[Voice of Hope, February 4, 2023] (comprehensive report by our reporter Wen Hui) In the past less than a week, many Western countries have taken intensive actions in various fields such as military, science and technology, diplomacy, and human rights. “The situation is taking shape. According to media analysis, this is a “bad start to the year” for the CCP.
On January 30 last year, the United States teamed up with chip giants Japan and the Netherlands to prepare for the death penalty for China’s chip industry. On January 31, the United States reported that it had completely cut off Huawei’s technological lifeline.
NATO and Japan have recently deepened military cooperation. Japan has a representative in NATO, and NATO will also increase its participation in Indo-Pacific affairs. The two sides issued a joint statement, implying that the CCP should not try to attack Taiwan by force.
At the same time, the annual talks between the foreign ministers and defense ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia took place, and the CCP is regarded as the biggest threat in the Indo-Pacific region. After the new president of the Czech Republic, a small European country, had a phone call with Tsai Ing-wen, Speaker of the US House of Representatives McCarthy announced his visit to Taiwan in March.
On February 2, the number of military bases used by the US military in the Philippines increased from five to nine, further strengthening the protection of Taiwan and the Philippines, which can be called a major agreement reached by the US and the Philippines.
In addition, Australia is preparing for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to the United States next month. Albanese will discuss with Biden and British Prime Minister Sunak the “Australian-UK-US Trilateral Security Partnership” (AUKUS) to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines and strengthen its military strength in the Indo-Pacific.
According to analysis, this is essentially pointing the sword at the CCP, making Beijing feel like a thorn in its throat. Besieged by the front and back, the CCP hurriedly looked for a way out.
Japanese Foreign Minister Lin Fangzheng confirmed that on the evening of February 2, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang had a telephone conversation with him. This was the first meeting between Japanese and Chinese foreign ministers after Qin Gang took office.
Qin Gang tried his best to ease the relationship during the talks and invited Lin Fangzheng to visit China again. According to Japanese media reports, the CCP wants to use this to express its intention to improve bilateral relations. Qin Gang talked a lot about “peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation are the only correct choices for both sides,” but turned around and couldn’t help asking Japan to “restrain its words and deeds” on issues such as history and Taiwan and stop its so-called “provocations” against Diaoyutai.
Lin Fangzheng responded by emphasizing the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and expressing serious concerns about the CCP’s military activities around Japan.
Lin Fangzheng also deliberately let the Chinese know the attitude of Japan towards the CCP, saying that Japan’s domestic public opinion towards China is very severe, and Japan-China relations are facing many issues and unresolved issues. At the same time, he directly poked at the CCP’s pain points, raising the human rights issues of Hong Kong and Uighurs.
It is worth mentioning that China’s retaliatory measures against Japan’s enhanced quarantine of Chinese tourists have been quietly removed from the shelves a few days ago.
In addition, the CCP is also trying to find a breakthrough from Australia. Following China’s statement that it may cancel the ban on Australian coal imports, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell recently stated that Australia is working to lift the CCP’s trade ban and asked China to cancel the high tariffs on some important Australian products, including wine, Meat, lobster and wheat etc. In this regard, all responses from the CCP have been very proactive.
Feng Chongyi, an expert on China issues at the University of Technology Sydney, said: “China is currently in a deep economic crisis. The CCP is eager to improve its foreign relations to save the economy. The CCP has a strong desire to improve relations with Australia.”
Tang Hao, an international affairs commentator, told NTD: “The CCP wants to challenge the existing international order, and has launched “seeking hegemony with the epidemic”, “wolf warrior diplomacy”, and “inlandization of Taiwan Strait”. These measures are not only serious It threatens international regional security and also harms the existing interests of all countries. Therefore, the free state system led by the United States has decided to reorganize globalization, exclude the CCP, a player who does not abide by the rules of the game, and isolate and contain it.”
“As long as the CCP system is not corrected or collapsed, the trend of “global encirclement of the CCP” is likely to continue. All countries can only adopt a tough stance to deal with the CCP’s expansion challenge.” Tang Hao said.
Source: Sound of Hope
