Tensions are soaring in the strait that separates Taiwan from mainland China ¡ª just 130 km at its narrowest point ¡ª as Beijing continues to heap military, diplomatic and gray-zone pressure on Taipei.
In recent months, China has ramped up its military activities near the island, sending warplanes on near daily sorties into Taiwan¡¯s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Beijing has deployed hulking commercial sand dredgers near islands and waters over which Taiwan claims jurisdiction, a move some have called tantamount to psychological warfare. And China¡¯s vice foreign minister has said that when it comes to reunification with the mainland, ¡°no option is excluded,¡± a veiled reference to invasion.
Taiwan has responded to China¡¯s dialed-up campaign by turning to its closest partners, the United States and Japan, in a bid to bolster its defenses and deter Beijing from a conflict that experts say would have catastrophic consequences for not only the region but the world.
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