China’s Military, ‘Chasing the Dream,’ Probes Taiwan’s Defenses

Chinese naval ships and air force planes have been edging closer to Taiwan’s territorial seas and skies, probing the island’s vigilance and trying to wear down its military planes and ships. Such moves could narrow the time that Taiwan would have to react to a surprise escalation, said Chang Yan-ting, a retired deputy commander of Taiwan’s Air Force. It said that China’s air force “is rapidly catching up to Western air forces.”China’s leader, Xi Jinping, appears determined to maintain the pace of this expansion. In 2020, Taiwan spent nearly 9 percent of its defense budget on monitoring and tailing Chinese military planes and ships. Because if the enemy arrives, we’ll have already lost sea and air superiority.”The post China’s Military, ‘Chasing the Dream,’ Probes Taiwan’s Defenses appeared first on New York Times.