EDITOR, The Tribune
Tensions are escalating between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China, known to us as Taiwan. I read in The Telegraph, a British newspaper, that former head of the US Indo-Pacific command, Admiral Philip Davidson, predicted that China will invade Taiwan by 2027. Military analysts have dubbed this timeframe the “Davidson Window.”
In China, according to CBN, patriotic Chinese are saying, “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” It would appear that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ill-fated decision to annex Ukraine has inspired the Communist Party in Beijing and President Xi Jinping.
Taiwan is located 100 miles from the coast of southeast China. The two independent countries were separated since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when Taiwan’s first President Chiang Kai-shek was forced to retreat from the mainland after his Nationalist army was soundly defeated by Mao Zedong and the People’s Liberation Army.
Since 1979, the US has maintained an official relationship with the Chinese, although that relationship is beginning to thaw, especially since former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022. The visit of Taiwanese President Tsa Ing-wen to current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California recently has also annoyed Beijing, so much so that they’re currently conducting military drills near Taiwan.
China has the biggest navy in the world. Regarding China’s One China policy, Beijing is hoping to reunite the island of Taiwan to the mainland.
Any war between the two Asian countries would hurt the West economically, as Taiwan produces 65 percent of the world’s semi-conductors that are used to energise laptops, smart phones and cars. Washington has continued to encourage the Taiwanese people to elect pro-independence politicians, while it continues to arm its ally, much to the chagrin of Beijing.
The current geopolitical standoff is likened to a love triangle between the US, China and Taiwan. The Bahamas, as far as I am aware, has diplomatic relations with both the US and China. About two weeks ago, China Ambassador to The Bahamas Her Excellency Dai Qingli donated six Hisense smart TVs to the Bahamian Parliament.
The Progressive Liberal Party official who received the donation spoke about this nation’s strong ties to the People’s Republic of China. I believe that tensions between China and the US over Taiwan will eventually place this country in an awkward situation.
If and when that day comes, will the Bahamian government throw its support behind the US and the Taiwanese people or will it side with Beijing?
I am not too sure that The Bahamas will get away with straddling the fence.
Both super powers might demand that The Bahamas take a side.
I believe that it will be a no-brainer to side with the US, based on our strategic location to that country and our dependence on the US to fuel our tourism industry.
Without the US, The Bahamas would be another Haiti. The Bahamas simply cannot afford to annoy Washington on the matter of Taiwan maintaining its independence from mainland China.
KEVIN EVANS
Freeport,
Grand Bahama.
April 24, 2023.
Comments
avidreader 1 year, 7 months ago
Officially the U.S. recognizes the so-called "one China" policy which accepts Taiwan as a part of the People's Republic of China. All this noise about antagonizing China relative to its relationship to Taiwan is driven by a need for the U.S. to distract from the dire situation in Ukraine while simultaneously revealings its deep seated paranoia about The People's Republic's growing economic and military prominence. I suspect that there still exists that long standing fear of a so-called "communist" country proving to be successful. Wasn't it Mao himself who said "let a thousand flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend"? In the end he decided that only a highly centralized authority could manage such a huge and populous country. I know, I know, this is quite distinct from the path taken by India, another populous country but with a quite distinct historical experience. This hatred and envy of China reminds me of the Roman senator who was in the habit of prefacing his remarks in the Senate House in Rome with the words "Carthage must be destroyed" spoken in Latin, of course.
themessenger 1 year, 7 months ago
Yes, but don’t forget that although Hannibal won the battles, Scipio africanus won the war!
Bigrocks 1 year, 6 months ago
Well, China will not move on Taiwon until the Ukrain war is more or less settled. They are trying to play peace maker as a decoy. However, I am sure they are hoping that the US and Russia weaken themselves so much and deminishes thier supplies to a point leaving China as the lone strong man standing. They also want a chunk of Russian that once belonged to them many years ago. It is almost safe to say they hope Russia and USA realy go at it as it will leave them as the last and only SuperPower left.
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