The belligerent rhetoric over Taiwan seems to have ramped up suddenly (I’m writing on Saturday morning, October 9). See for example this article in Eurasia Review (a publication I know nothing about this publication, couldn’t find out much about it online, and it raises some propaganda alarms as I read it. It credits “VOA” as the author of the piece, which would make it official propaganda assuming it is true.

U.S. officials have expressed growing alarm in recent days, describing China’s behavior toward Taiwan as increasingly aggressive and belligerent. The concern has been heightened by repeated aerial incursions, with Beijing sending more than 150 military jets into Taiwanese airspace over several days.

Eurasia Review

Here’s an article from something called “The Conversation” which also sets off my propaganda alarms. But Wikipedia describes it as “a network of not-for-profit media outlets that publish news stories on the Internet that are written by academic experts and researchers, under a free Creative Commons licence, allowing reuse but only without modification.”

Taiwan’s porcupine doctrine has three defensive layers. The outer layer is about intelligence and reconnaissance to ensure defence forces are fully prepared. Behind this come plans for guerrilla warfare at sea with aerial support from sophisticated aircraft provided by the US. The innermost layer relies on the geography and demography of the island. The ultimate objective of this doctrine is that of surviving and assimilating an aerial offensive well enough to organise a wall of fire that will prevent the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from successfully invading.

The Conversation

Sounds like a fun video game, or an unbelievably hellish reality. Let’s not let this happen.