The Prophetic Messenger
A Newsletter From Mysteries From The Word Of God Ministries
November/December 2023 - Volume 24 Issue 6
The China Threat - Revisited - Part I
"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." I Thessalonians 5:3
In this article, we will take a look at the nation of China and their future threat to the United States.
In this article, we will take a look at the nation of China and their future threat to the United States.
1. Recent History of China
A civil war in 1949 separated China and Taiwan. The Chinese Communists ruled mainland China and the Chinese Nationalists fled to Taiwan. They have been bitter enemies ever since. Under The Taiwan Relations Act, signed April 10, 1979, the United States agreed to protect Taiwan from an invasion by China. An article titled "Congress Hears US Forces Ready for Chinese Threat"(Note 1) states
"The top US naval commander in the Pacific has told Congress that US forces are well-positioned to deal with any Chinese military activity aimed at Taiwan, but says that the US has not seen any indication of an immediate military threat in the period surrounding Taiwan's presidential election. Admiral Thomas Fargo, the Navy Commander of the US Pacific Command, made his comments in testimony on Wednesday before a House Armed Services Committee hearing on defense budget issues and US security concerns in the Pacific region.........He also noted that 'we maintain a force posture and readiness and an ability to respond to contingencies that will ensure that should the president ask us, we can meet those responsibilities under the [Taiwan Relations Act].' This act, enacted 25 years ago today, commits the US among other things to 'maintain the capacity ... to resist any resort to force of other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security ... of the people of Taiwan'........Fargo was asked whether Taiwan's desire for 'increased autonomy and eventual independence' could spark a military confrontation between Washington and Beijing. He refused to speculate on Taiwan's actions, but said 'the most important thing is that we have to meet our responsibilities with respect to the Taiwan Relations Act as well as provide good advice to Taiwan as to how they improve their capability to defend themselves. And we're certainly doing that'........'The balance of power is changing across the Taiwan Strait' with China's continued military modernization, he said. 'Taiwan, on the other hand, continued cutting its defense budget,' he said. 'These diverging military trends highlight a political problem in which China constantly seeks to strangle more assertive demonstrations of Taiwanese democracy lest the people of Taiwan decide that they don't want to surrender their rights in order to become part of greater China. Those trends are accelerating, undermining the fragile standoff that has secured peace across the Strait for most of the last 50 years,' he said."
For more information about the Taiwan Relations Act visit www.taiwandocuments.org/tra01.htm
An article titled “Attack On Taiwan An Option To Stop Independence, Top China General Says”(Note 2) states
“BEIJING (Reuters) - China will attack Taiwan if there is no other way of stopping it from becoming independent, one of the country’s most senior generals said on Friday, in a rhetorical escalation from China aimed at the democratic island Beijing claims as its own. Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on the 15th anniversary of the Anti-Secession Law, Li Zuocheng, chief of the Joint Staff Department and member of the Central Military Commission, left the door open to using force. The 2005 law gives the country the legal basis for military action against Taiwan if it secedes or seems about to, making the narrow Taiwan Strait a potential military flashpoint. ‘If the possibility for peaceful reunification is lost, the people’s armed forces will, with the whole nation, including the people of Taiwan, take all necessary steps to resolutely smash any separatist plots or actions,’ Li said. ‘We do not promise to abandon the use of force, and reserve the option to take all necessary measures, to stabilise and control the situation in the Taiwan Strait,’ he added. Although China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, it is rare for a top, serving military officer to so explicitly make the threat in a public setting. The comments are especially striking amid international opprobrium over China passing new national security legislation for Chinese-run Hong Kong. Taiwan’s government denounced the comments, saying that threats of war were a violation of international law and that Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China. ”
"The top US naval commander in the Pacific has told Congress that US forces are well-positioned to deal with any Chinese military activity aimed at Taiwan, but says that the US has not seen any indication of an immediate military threat in the period surrounding Taiwan's presidential election. Admiral Thomas Fargo, the Navy Commander of the US Pacific Command, made his comments in testimony on Wednesday before a House Armed Services Committee hearing on defense budget issues and US security concerns in the Pacific region.........He also noted that 'we maintain a force posture and readiness and an ability to respond to contingencies that will ensure that should the president ask us, we can meet those responsibilities under the [Taiwan Relations Act].' This act, enacted 25 years ago today, commits the US among other things to 'maintain the capacity ... to resist any resort to force of other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security ... of the people of Taiwan'........Fargo was asked whether Taiwan's desire for 'increased autonomy and eventual independence' could spark a military confrontation between Washington and Beijing. He refused to speculate on Taiwan's actions, but said 'the most important thing is that we have to meet our responsibilities with respect to the Taiwan Relations Act as well as provide good advice to Taiwan as to how they improve their capability to defend themselves. And we're certainly doing that'........'The balance of power is changing across the Taiwan Strait' with China's continued military modernization, he said. 'Taiwan, on the other hand, continued cutting its defense budget,' he said. 'These diverging military trends highlight a political problem in which China constantly seeks to strangle more assertive demonstrations of Taiwanese democracy lest the people of Taiwan decide that they don't want to surrender their rights in order to become part of greater China. Those trends are accelerating, undermining the fragile standoff that has secured peace across the Strait for most of the last 50 years,' he said."
For more information about the Taiwan Relations Act visit www.taiwandocuments.org/tra01.htm
An article titled “Attack On Taiwan An Option To Stop Independence, Top China General Says”(Note 2) states
“BEIJING (Reuters) - China will attack Taiwan if there is no other way of stopping it from becoming independent, one of the country’s most senior generals said on Friday, in a rhetorical escalation from China aimed at the democratic island Beijing claims as its own. Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on the 15th anniversary of the Anti-Secession Law, Li Zuocheng, chief of the Joint Staff Department and member of the Central Military Commission, left the door open to using force. The 2005 law gives the country the legal basis for military action against Taiwan if it secedes or seems about to, making the narrow Taiwan Strait a potential military flashpoint. ‘If the possibility for peaceful reunification is lost, the people’s armed forces will, with the whole nation, including the people of Taiwan, take all necessary steps to resolutely smash any separatist plots or actions,’ Li said. ‘We do not promise to abandon the use of force, and reserve the option to take all necessary measures, to stabilise and control the situation in the Taiwan Strait,’ he added. Although China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, it is rare for a top, serving military officer to so explicitly make the threat in a public setting. The comments are especially striking amid international opprobrium over China passing new national security legislation for Chinese-run Hong Kong. Taiwan’s government denounced the comments, saying that threats of war were a violation of international law and that Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China. ”
Notes:
Note 1: www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/04/02/2003116340
Note 2: https://tinyurl.com/yb4lm4oa
Note 1: www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/04/02/2003116340
Note 2: https://tinyurl.com/yb4lm4oa
Coming Up In The Next Issue
The China Threat - Revisited - Part II. Read this article in the next issue of The Prophetic Messenger.
Memory Verses
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