Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Biden agrees to arm F-16s for Taiwan: President backs $619 million weapons package after China flexed its muscles by dispatching 25 war planes to island
- President Joe Biden’s administration has approved an estimated $619 million potential arms sale to Taiwan, including hundreds of missiles for F-16 fighter jets, after China sent 25 warplanes and three warships toward the island.
- Biden’s move will likely further inflame tensions between Washington and Beijing, which have gotten worse in the wake of the spy balloon China sent over the U.S. and reports Xi Jinping is considering lethal aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
- A State Department official told CNN the potential sale of F-16 munitions and related equipment is ‘consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act and our longstanding One-China policy,’ wherein ‘the United States makes available to Taiwan defense articles and services necessary to enable it to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability.’
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Taiwan says 25 Chinese planes, 3 ships sent toward island
- China sent 25 warplanes and three warships toward Taiwan on Wednesday morning, the island’s Defense Ministry said, as tensions remain high between Beijing and Taipei’s main backer Washington.
- The ministry said 19 of those planes crossed into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone while the ships were continuing to operate in the Taiwan Strait. It said Taiwan responded by scrambling fighters, dispatching ships and activating coastal missile defense systems to “closely monitor and respond.”
- China stages such incursions on a near-daily basis, part of what are termed “gray zone” tactics, aimed at intimidation and wearing down Taiwan’s equipment, exhausting its personnel and degrading public morale.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Asian countries push back on China demand
- Beijing is demanding that Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan surrender their territorial rights to the South China Sea. But all have rejected its claim of “historical” ownership of the 3.5 million square kilometer waterway.
- Now escalating military pressure from China is forcing the traditionally non-aligned South East Asian states to seek mutual and international support.
- “The situation in the South China Sea is far from stable,” Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) analyst Greg Poling says.
- “Chinese vessels engaged in dangerous and escalatory encounters with those of other states regularly throughout 2022.”
- Now Jakarta has put Beijing in a position where it must either put up or shut up.
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc produced a statement stating China’s artificial island fortresses and aggressive behavior at sea, “have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region”.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Chinese military aircraft and ships cross the Taiwan Strait amid soaring tensions with the US after Navy and Marines held drills in South China Sea and fallout over Montana spy balloon
- Nearly two dozen Chinese military aircrafts and ships were seen in the Taiwan Strait on Monday morning.
- According to the countries defense ministry, there were 18 Chinese army aircrafts and four ships spotted – 11 of which crossed the median line of the contended buffer zone.
- This comes amid heightened tension in the region – after the US shot down a 200ft Chinese spy balloon that was caught flying across Montana.
- The US Navy also conducted joint exercises with the Marine Corps in the South China Sea over the weekend – which they described as ‘integrated expeditionary strike force.’
- Explaining the drills on Saturday, the 7th Fleet said: ‘The mobility and sustainability provided by amphibious platforms gives the Navy and Marine Corps team an asymmetric advantage in a maritime environment.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Taiwan activates defenses in response to China incursions
- Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to nearby operations by 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part Beijing’s strategy to unsettle and intimidate the self-governing island democracy.
- The large-scale Chinese deployment came as Beijing increases preparations for a potential blockade or military action against Taiwan that have stirred increasing concern among military leaders, diplomats and elected officials in the U.S., Taiwan’s key ally.
- In a memo last month, U.S. Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan instructed officers to be prepared for a U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan in 2025
- NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that China’s growing assertiveness and collaboration with Russia pose a threat not only to Asia but also to Europe.
- On a visit to Japan on Wednesday, Stoltenberg said China is increasingly investing in nuclear weapons and long-range missiles without providing transparency or engaging in arms control talks.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- China Sends 71 Warplanes, 7 Ships Toward Taiwan in 24 hours
- China’s military sent 71 planes and seven ships toward Taiwan in a 24-hour display of force directed at the self-ruled island, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Monday, after China expressed anger at Taiwan-related provisions in a U.S. annual defense spending bill.
- Among the planes China sent toward Taiwan were 18 J-16 fighter jets, 11 J-1 fighters, 6 Su-30 fighters, and drones.
- “This is a firm response to the current U.S.-Taiwan escalation and provocation,” said Shi Yi, the spokesman for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, in a statement on Sunday night. It announced that the PLA was holding joint combat patrols and joint strike drills in the waters around Taiwan.
- Shi was referring to the U.S. defense spending bill, which calls China a strategic challenge.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- China sends record wave of bombers into Taiwan defense zone
- 21 aircraft entered the island’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the last 24 hours, including 18 nuclear-capable H-6 bombers.
- The wave came after China slapped fresh import bans on Taiwanese food, beverages, alcohol and fishery products last week, prompting Premier Su Tseng-chang to accuse Beijing of violating international trade rules and “discriminating” against the island.
- It is rare for China to send more than five H-6 bombers in one day. But sorties have increased dramatically in recent weeks.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Taiwan readies missile defenses after Chinese military vessels cross ADIZ: report
- China continues to conduct wargames in the region near Taiwan to test its latest military technologies
- Several Chinese aircraft and naval vessels entered the Taiwan Strait, crossing into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone, its government announced early Wednesday morning.
- “16 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.,” its government said, prompting them to send naval vessels of their own in response.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Commission report reveals China’s plan for war on Taiwan
- The report from the bipartisan panel argues that China under President Xi Jinping this year has “adopted a significantly more aggressive stance toward Taiwan, ramping up displays of military force in addition to diplomatic and economic coercion.”
- The commission called on Congress to create an executive branch panel to prepare economic sanctions that can be imposed on China in response to military action against the democratic-ruled island state. The congressionally chartered panel also wants Congress to require the Pentagon to produce a classified report on the U.S. military forces needed to resist a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
- Commission member Randy Schriver said the report details China’s growing capabilities and more aggressive activities toward Taiwan and the need for an expedited American response.
- Despite the dire warnings, President Biden said this week after meeting with Mr. Xi that there are no signs China is preparing for an immediate attack on Taiwan. He appeared intent on lowering the friction in the U.S.-Chinese relationship.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- China could invade Taiwan later this year, top Navy officer warns
- Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday said China’s 20-year track record of delivering “every promise they’ve made earlier than they said” indicated the Communist country could try to take Taiwan by force any day now.
- “It’s how the Chinese behave and what they do,” Gilday said during an Atlantic Council event. “So when we talk about the 2027 window, in my mind, that has to be a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window.”
- The prediction coincides with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s promise to make 2027 the year to bring China to the forefront of global power, as it will mark the end of what the country considers its “hundred years of humiliation.”
- In preparation for such a possibility, Gilday says, the Navy now has “our eyes on preparing ourselves for a potential fight tonight.”
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