The attacks on Hong Kong democracy targets are symptoms if a bigger malaise. To counterattack them would require to compromise democratic values and would face a lot of opposition from the blue opposition - pro China camp.
One of the things that stayed with me of the DW piece is that the incursion flights by China drain Taiwan’s resources and wear down the planes. The attacks from inside do the same for people’s morale and trust in the Government.
I keep comparing to the wars in Central America and I fear the next step is to destabilize the society from within.
As I said in the other thread, these attacks that seem not to be deadly, actually are mortiferous in the long run:
Ok, the problem with these cowards is that they play the line. I mean, what stops them from this being a bomb or something worse, like a deadly pathogen a la Russian spy? They do this so “innocuous” so they can argue it is only shit, while at the same time staking their power and striking fear in their opponents hearts. It is malicious and disgusting and outright evil, playing democratic values for fools.
How many of these operatives are there? How many useful idiots? How many puppets to the regime? If we do not stop them now, how can we stop them when the order is given to attack from within? They can organize terrorist attacks against Taiwanese, cause chaos inside while PLA attacks from outside. This is really bad.
China blocks Taiwan plane access to Pratas Island… first time that that has happened. Normally China (famous as the source of the CCP virus) allows Taiwan’s South China Sea activity to proceed unmolested (probably thinking they will benefit from it once they take Taiwan over).
The B1-B has the biggest payload of any bomber and is a departure from the fighter jets and spy planes the American forces have sent before on missions so close to the Chinese coast.
Such heavy aircraft are not known for being deployed on spying missions, suggesting that the US was sending a blunt warning.
From a previous article about the deployment of the B1s:
These missions, military analysts say, are designed to send a crystal-clear signal: The United States can threaten China’s fleet and Chinese land targets at any time, from distant bases, without having to move America’s aircraft carriers and other expensive surface warships within range of Beijing’s massive arsenal of missiles.
In this response to the growing power of China’s military, the Pentagon has combined some of its oldest weapons with some of its newest: Cold War-era bombers and cutting-edge, stealthy missiles. The supersonic B1-B first entered service in 1986; the newest plane in the B-52 fleet was built during the Kennedy administration.
But these workhorses can carry a huge payload of precision weapons. A B-1B can carry 24 of the US military’s stealthy new Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, which entered service in 2018 and can strike targets at ranges of up to 600 kilometers, according to US and other Western officials.
“A single B-1 can deliver the same ordnance payload as an entire carrier battle group in a day,” said David Deptula, dean of the Washington-based Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and a retired US Air Force lieutenant general. And, in a crisis, he added, bombers can be rapidly deployed.
Former AIT Director William Stanton has posted an informative review of Political Warfare: Strategies for Combating China’s Plan to “Win Without Fighting” by Kerry K. Gershaneck.
It’s a great piece that helps debunk many common misperceptions about the PRC—and how their multifacted gameplan actually works. It’s well worth a read.
If you’re in Canada (as I seem to recall you might be?), I’d first recommend checking out longtime Canadian journalist Jonathan Manthorpe’s Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada (2019). It’s a great primer explaining what’s going on—and why it’s bad news for everyone, including Chinese Canadians.
This is exactly the sort of thing that Gershaneck is warning about!
If you just google “Gershaneck” + “Political warfare” you’ll get the PDF link at the top of the page.
I’m about halfway through it. It’s a bit shrill in places and some of it veers too far into the realm of speculation and handwaving, but as they say: it’s not paranoia if they actually are out to get you. China has given the world very little reason to believe its “peaceful rise” rhetoric lately, and it’s as well to understand how they do what they do. The author (an experienced and well-versed insider) has a lot of interesting anecdotes, and the book is worth reading for those alone, even if you disagree with his opinions.
