Everywhere is HOT – Israel/Palestine, China/Taiwan, Russia/Ukraine, and the regulars with failing states and failed states. Yes, if you look deeper, one thing is evident: prosperity in an absolute economic sense may not bring peace in this world. I would not have imagined that China would do live military drills around Taiwan, even as I remain flummoxed on the real purpose of US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s mission in Taiwan.
China does not like the visit: “a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, seriously infringed upon China’s sovereignty and (territorial) integrity and … undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.” And China is cutting many bilateral relationships with the US. In ancestral Africa, when leaders of two kingdoms stopped talking, unease would envelop the subjects. Why? Silence during war is the loudest noise possible! The world is not better when the US and China are not speaking with each other.
Top Chinese military officials have not returned multiple calls from their American counterparts this week as a crisis erupted in the Pacific over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, according to three people with knowledge of the attempts.
Beijing’s ghosting of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley comes as China continues launching missiles and positioning warships and aircraft in unprecedented military drills around Taiwan. Officials and experts say China’s silence is a shortsighted and reckless move that increases the risk of escalation in an already tense situation.
On that trip, what is the cost-to-benefit analysis for the Taiwanese people who could be under ruins if China miscalculates? As you look deeper, you will notice that humans are unique: our stable state is confusion and confrontation.
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This brings me to a suspicion: Africa’s mess may not be that we’re not a rich continent but rather, our paralysis is a designed state to balance the metastasis of the global confusion. Indeed, only fools will allow superpowers to stimulate them into crazy decisions. Ukraine wants to join NATO; now, it is under ruins. Taiwan hosts a special visitor for two days; now, it has given China valid reasons (real, perceived, justified or otherwise) to cause confusions in its lands.
Across all indicators, it is now Taiwan 2.0 even as Madam Speaker will be in her house tasting a new meal from McDonalds. If China stops sending silica to Taiwan’s TSMC, the economy of Taiwan will be rattled and its global importance will fade.
African leaders must be strategic to ensure we do not ignorantly stimulate avoidable confrontations, scoring unnecessary own-goals!
China cut off contacts with the United States on vital issues Friday — including military matters and crucial climate cooperation — as concerns rose that the Communist government’s hostile reaction to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit could signal a lasting, more aggressive approach toward its U.S. rival and the self-ruled island.
China’s move to freeze key lines of communication compounded the worsening of relations from Pelosi’s visit and from the Chinese response with military exercises off Taiwan, including firing missiles that splashed down in surrounding waters.
After the White House summoned China’s ambassador, Qin Gang, late Thursday to protest the military exercises, White House spokesman John Kirby on Friday condemned the decision to end important dialogue with the United States as “irresponsible.”
The White House spokesman blasted China’s “provocative” actions since Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory. But Kirby noted that some channels of communication remain open between military officials in the two countries. He repeated daily assurances that the U.S. had not changed its policy toward the Communist mainland and the self-ruled island.
A Key Global Company On The Path of US and China Battle for Supremacy
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