China’s coercive expansionism may be taking its most dangerous turn yet.
Recently, record-breaking numbers of Chinese military planes have entered Taiwan’s “air defense identification zone,” where the island’s authorities assert the right to demand that aircraft identify themselves. China’s muscle-flexing sends a clear message: It is serious about incorporating the island — and “reunifying” China — potentially by force.
Though the international community has been reluctant to challenge the Chinese claim that Taiwan has “always been” part of China, the claim is dubious at best and based on revisionist history. For most of its history, Taiwan was inhabited by non-Chinese peoples — Malayo-Polynesian tribes — and had no relationship with China. Geographically, Taiwan is closer to the Philippines than to the Chinese mainland.