While the world’s attention has been fixed on the Israel-Hamas crisis in the Middle East, the ingrained Sino-US rivalry and developments in the Indo-Pacific, including in Taiwan and the South China Sea, are still on the radar.
Taiwan will elect a new president in January, and Democratic Progressive Party candidate William Lai Ching-te has emerged as the frontrunner in the race. On the mainland, there has been a shake-up of senior officials in the past few months.
Beijing remains determined to maintain its dominance in the South China Sea, as evidenced by the recent hard-power intimidation of Philippine vessels and the dangerous manoeuvre with a US B-52 bomber plane.
China cutting off military-to-military communication with the United States gives Washington the moral upper hand should miscalculations occur.
The US has made intensive overtures to China in most recent months, with a series of visits by high-ranking officials, from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Most recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom met President Xi Jinping. In the summer, business leaders such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates had visited China.
All this will not change the eventual power equation, however. As part of its latest National Defence Strategy, the US has a laser focus on China, which the Pentagon describes as a “pacing challenge”.
Beijing enjoys a numerical advantage in certain segments of hard power, including a massive standing army and the largest naval fleet in the world. However, the US reigns supreme in proven hard power capacity and lethality, with far superior technology and integrated second- and third-strike capabilities. It has the ability to project power and enforce dominance in all corners of the world and especially the capacity to draw on the support of numerous allies around the globe. Beijing is decades away from being able to match these capabilities.
Recently, US President Joe Biden reiterated his “ironclad” defence commitment to Manila. Beijing may be hoping to capitalise on the Middle East crisis distracting the US, but it also needs Washington to compromise in its policy responses towards China.
Collins Chong Yew Keat, Selangor, Malaysia
Taiwanese media industry needs reform
“If you don’t study in your childhood, you become a journalist when you grow up.” This is a common saying in Taiwan, mocking the knowledge of Taiwanese reporters and the quality of their work.
I have read some quality reports by the Taiwanese media, such as Mirror Media’s 2021 report on deepfake porn, which left a strong impression on me.
But why do Taiwanese people view journalists negatively? There has been much evidence of members of the mainstream Taiwanese media copying other journalists’ work, misleading viewers and reporting incorrect information.
Recent Reuters data revealed that the share of people who trust the news in Taiwan was only 28 per cent, despite the Taiwanese media enjoying huge freedom to deliver high-quality work of social interest. Should “journalists” who neither observe media ethics nor practice professional journalism be allowed to stay in the industry? The Taiwanese media industry really needs reform.
Source : SCMP
