The Chinese Communist Party’s “gray zone conflict,” which refers to “unconventional or unconventional use of force that does not meet the threshold of war,” has become a new national security challenge for Taiwan. While it is not easy to deter and counter such tactics, National Security Institute Associate Researcher Li Junyi analyzed that the U.S. could increase pressure on China’s sensitive issues or vulnerabilities to create an international environment that is more unfavorable to the latter.
In the National Defense Council’s Defense Security Flash Review released earlier, Li Junyi used the title “China’s New Round of Gray Zone Conflict in the South China Sea and U.S. Countermeasures” to illustrate that China’s expansion through “gray zone conflict” may become the norm. He cited the example of about 200 Chinese fishing boats that gathered in the Philippine-controlled waters of Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea from March 7, 2021.
Li Junyi said the Philippines first protested on March 20, accusing China of having a “threatening presence” by deploying maritime militias on the fishing boats, which the Chinese embassy and foreign ministry denied, saying the boats were only there to take shelter due to sea conditions. Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced on the 27th that the country’s military and maritime patrol units had been monitoring the situation in the area and promised to send more warships and maritime patrol vessels on “sovereignty patrols”, but later said that no warships would be sent. The government also promised to send more warships and patrols to conduct “sovereignty patrols,” but then said it would not send warships to avoid being accused by China of provocation.
On April 4, Lorenzana again accused China of trying to occupy islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin Jr. The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (D-N.Y.) said he would consider filing a diplomatic note. The government’s decision to use the “new” technology in the country’s economy is a matter of concern.
The U.S. government’s “newest” initiative, the “newest” initiative, is to create a new, more robust, and more effective way to promote the development of the country’s economy. The government’s decision to use the “new” technology is a matter of concern.
The government’s policy is to promote the development of the country’s economy and the development of its economy. First, the U.S. can organize friends and allies to shape international public opinion. After the Philippines protested to China on March 20, the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines immediately supported the Philippines’ argument on March 23; Canada, Britain, Japan and Australia also expressed their concerns about the matter, behind which the U.S. should coordinate. This means of exposing and soliciting international solidarity may not change China’s behavior, but it may deny China the legitimacy of a fait accompli through the “gray zone conflict.
Second, the United States could counter China’s vulnerability. China’s attempts to gain a voice in the international order, human rights, and democracy have been driven not by its ability to convince the affected populations internationally and domestically on these issues, but by manipulating public perceptions through internal and external propaganda. Thus, human rights issues in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, democracy and autonomy in Taiwan, and the application of international norms to sovereignty in the South China Sea remain China’s weaknesses.
Li Junyi emphasized that the involvement of the United States and its allies in these sensitive issues, while seemingly unrelated to China’s expansion in the South China Sea, has the effect of putting pressure on China as a whole. In other words, the recent moves by the U.S. to strengthen relations with its allies (e.g., support for Taiwan) may be seen as a strategy to increase pressure on China to change its behavior under the premise that China is still unwilling or/and unable to start a light war with the U.S.
Recent Comments