China has sent warships, including a plane carrying warship, into the oceans around Taiwan.
The meeting between Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and the US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday in California was preceded by Beijing's most recent display of military might.
Taiwan's independence from China is viewed as a breakaway province that will eventually fall under Beijing's control.
"Reunification" with Taiwan "must be fulfilled," according to China's President Xi Jinping, who has not ruled out the possibility of using force to accomplish this.
However, Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland because it has its own constitution and leaders who are elected democratically.
Taiwan is where?
Taiwan is an island located approximately 100 miles from China's southeast coast.
It is part of the so-called "first island chain," which includes a list of territories that are important to US foreign policy and are friendly to the US.
Some Western experts say that if China took control of Taiwan, it would have more freedom to project power in the western Pacific and could even threaten US military bases in Hawaii and Guam.
However, China maintains that its goals are solely peaceful.
Has Taiwan always existed independently of China?
According to historical sources, the Qing dynasty began administering the island in the 17th century, when it first came under full Chinese control. After losing the first Sino-Japanese war, they gave up the island to Japan in 1895.
China took the island again in 1945 after Japan lost The Second Great War.
However, a nationwide conflict emitted in central area China between patriot government powers drove by Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong's Socialist Coalition.
In 1949, the communists won and took over Beijing.
Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang, a remnant of the nationalist party, fled to Taiwan, where they ruled for several decades.
China claims that Taiwan was once a province of China by pointing to this history. However, the Taiwanese cite the same history to argue that they were never a part of either the People's Republic of China, which Mao established in 1949, or the modern Chinese state, which was established following the revolution in 1911.
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| Following his escape to Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek led the Kuomintang. |
Since then, the Kuomintang has ruled Taiwan for a significant portion of its history and is one of the most prominent political parties on the island.
Except for the Vatican, Taiwan is currently recognized as a sovereign nation by only 13 nations.
China exerts a significant amount of diplomatic pressure on other nations not to recognize Taiwan or to act in a manner that suggests recognition.
Is Taiwan able to defend itself?
China might try to achieve "reunification" through non-military means like improving economic ties.
In any case, in any tactical showdown, China's military would bantam those of Taiwan.
China could use a wide range of capabilities, including naval power, missile technology, aircraft, and cyberattacks, and spends more on defense than any other nation besides the United States.
Although a significant portion of China's military might can be found elsewhere, there is a significant disparity between the two sides in terms of active-duty personnel, for instance.
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Some Western experts predict that Taiwan could, at best, slow down a Chinese attack, try to stop Chinese amphibious forces from landing on the shore, and launch guerrilla attacks while waiting for help from outside.
The United States, which supplies Taiwan with arms, may provide this assistance.
Washington's "strategic ambiguity" policy has meant that the United States has been deliberately ambiguous about whether or how it would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack up until this point.
The "One-China" policy, which recognizes only Beijing as the Chinese capital and has formal ties with China rather than Taiwan, is the US's current diplomatic stance.
However, US President Joe Biden appeared to bolster Washington's position in May of last year.
When asked if the United States would use force to defend Taiwan, Mr. Biden responded, Yes."
Washington had not altered its position, the White House insisted.
Is the predicament getting any worse?
Following Nancy Pelosi's August 2022 visit to Taiwan, the then-US House Speaker, relations between China and Taiwan rapidly deteriorated.
The visit of Ms. Pelosi was deemed "extremely dangerous" by Beijing.
China conducted a series of military drills, including the firing of ballistic missiles, in the area of six danger zones around Taiwan, three of which overlapped the territorial waters of the island. These drills were focused on Taiwan.
Taiwan claimed that the action, which necessitated planes and ships circling those areas, was an infringement of its sovereignty and akin to a blockade.
Pressures among China and Taiwan had previously been expanding.
By sending military aircraft into Taiwan's Air Defence Zone in 2021, which is a self-declared area where foreign aircraft are identified, monitored, and controlled for the sake of national security, China appeared to increase its pressure.
In October 2021, the number of aircraft reported reached its highest point, with 56 incursions occurring in a single day. Taiwan's defense minister stated that relations were at their lowest point in 40 years.
More than 20 incursions have been reported in the 22 days since then.
In 2020, Taiwan made information about plane incursions public.
The coastguard of China asserts that it is authorized by law to halt and inspect shipping in the Taiwan-area vicinity.
It announced that "on-site inspections" of some vessels would begin on Wednesday.
As a result of Taiwan's opposition to the move, Taiwanese vessels have been instructed not to cooperate with attempts to board and inspect them.
How significant is Taiwan to the rest of the world?
The economy of Taiwan is very important.
Computer chips produced in Taiwan power a significant portion of the world's common electronic devices, including phones, laptops, watches, and video game consoles.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, is the only Taiwanese company that controls more than half of the global market.
TSMC is referred to as a "foundry," which is a business that produces chips designed by consumers and the military. It is a tremendous industry, worth nearly $100bn (£73bn) in 2021.
Beijing may gain some control over one of the world's most important industries in the event of a Chinese takeover in Taiwan.
Are Taiwanese citizens concerned?
Many Taiwanese people appear to be relatively unperturbed, in spite of the recent tensions that have arisen between China and Taiwan, according to research.
The Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation polled respondents in October 2021 to find out how likely they were to see war with China.
Close to 66% (64.3%) answered that they didn't
Separate examination shows that a great many people in Taiwan distinguish as Taiwanese - embracing an unmistakably unique character.
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Since the beginning of the 1990s, the National Chengchi University has been conducting surveys, and the results show that the majority of people now identify as Taiwanese rather than Chinese or both.🌍🌎🌍
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