Ticking bomb

China's latest military maneuvers in and around the Taiwan Strait are a cause for concern. Beijing's latest exercises come at a time of heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, as well as between China and the United States.

This week, Taiwan reported that over 100 Chinese fighter planes and fewer than a dozen warships had been detected in the waters and airspace around its territory. So far, this is the most significant number of Chinese warplanes seen in the area in recent memory.

China's military posturing is not only happening in the Taiwan Strait but also in the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan from the Philippines. It involved the deployment of the Shandong aircraft carrier, one of China's only two operational carriers.

Since time immemorial, the US has been sending its aircraft carriers (11 of which are in service presently) to project power away from its shores. So, there is no mystery here about what China's message is in deploying the Shandong.

The Taiwan Strait's median line, the unofficial boundary between China and Taiwan, is only about 100 nautical miles, or 190 kilometers, from mainland China. Thus, Chinese planes need not take off from the Shandong to reach the exercise site.

As in past exercises, Beijing entered the strait, much to the consternation of Taiwan, using planes that took off from airstrips on the mainland or from the islands in the West Philippine Sea which it has occupied in violation of the Philippines' territorial rights.

Deploying the Shandong, the gem of the Chinese fleet, was apparently intended to add to the scare factor directed toward its neighbors like Taiwan and the Philippines.  Of late, the China Coast Guard has also been bullying Philippine Coast Guard-led resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre.

China claims the strait as part of its internal waters, while Taiwan and other nations like the United States see it as international waters.

Freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait is guaranteed by international law, and the United States and other countries regularly conduct freedom of navigation operations there to challenge China's claims.

With the exercises, China may be trying to send a message to Taiwan and the United States that it is serious about its claims over Taiwan. China has threatened to use force, if need be, to achieve reunification with Taiwan.

China may also be trying to test Taiwan's air defenses and assess the US response to any Chinese military action against Taiwan. China's latest military maneuvers are particularly concerning given its recent release of a new map claiming almost the entire South China Sea as its territory.

The new 10-dash map of China is based on the nine-dash line, which it had used to claim almost the entire South China Sea since the 1940s. However, the new map adds a tenth dash to the east of Taiwan.

The Taiwan Strait is a vital shipping lane, and any conflict in the area could have a significant impact on the global economy. It could well be a ticking time bomb, a potential flashpoint for regional and even global conflict.

Nations must dissuade China from taking aggressive measures that might spark a conflict. Taiwan's efforts to preserve its democracy and its right to self-defense should be encouraged by the international community.