N° 18 novembre 2021 Although the news related to the formation of the Aukus alliance (acronym for Australia, United Kindom and United State) directed against China and which justified the breach of the submarines contract ordered by Australia to France
made the headlines (see our article (1) in l'Hebdo N ° 735), the tensions between the United States and China are not new and focus today on the question of Taiwan.
What is at the root of this problem? Taiwan is an island populated by 23 million inhabitants in southern China from which it is separated by the Strait of Formosa. This Chinese territory, called the Republic of China, came under the control of the nationalist Kuomintang in 1949 following its defeat by the Chinese People's Army. Some 2 to 3 million nationalist soldiers took refuge there following their leader Tchang Kaï-chek. Until 1971, the Republic of China was considered the sole representative of China at the UN. It was only then that the Republic of China lost its status and it was the People's Republic of China (PRC) which by resolution 2758 was recognized as the sole representative of China. In fact, today only 15 countries recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state and among them there is no great or medium power. Thus, as Macao and Hong-Kong were separated from China due to colonization, Taiwan is indeed an integral part of China.
Although recognizing the PRC, the US, like its Western and largely Asian allies, does not hesitate to push Taiwan on the path of definitive secession from the PRC by supporting the nationalist and independence leader Tsai Ing-wen. To cite just a few examples, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Taiwanese army is trained by US instructors, while France sells military equipment there. Recently a delegation of French parliamentarians headed by a former minister of L. Jospin (A. Richard) stayed in Taiwan, thus recognizing the existence of a sovereign state.
Taiwan and its leaders’ policy is supported by the USA and its allies because this island represents a strategic stake in the inter-imperialist confrontation which opposes them to China and a potential base of aggression against it. Sovereignty over the waters of the China Sea is disputed not only by China but also by countries in the region such as: Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines… These waters are in fact located on a sea route through which a third of the world's commercial traffic transits. In addition, these territories are rich in fishery resources and have significant oil and gas reserves. This bitterly disputed area is the object of all the military attentions of the various protagonists whether at sea or in the air. There is a lot of talk about Chinese military flights but nothing is said about those of the opposing powers which are also numerous and penetrate China’s airspace. Recently the USA has acquired new means to coordinate the action of its forces in the region. Thus, the US Department of Defense has set up a "China Integration Team" responsible for implementing a battle plan by air and sea against China. For its part, the CIA has just created a department entirely devoted to this area. France is not absent from these interventions.
It is militarily present in this Asia-Pacific zone, effectively relying on the colonies it still occupies there. In addition, in its strategic definition, the Indo-Pacific zone has become, as for the USA, a first priority.
This deployment of forces, their activity, the bellicose declarations, the organization of alliances around the main protagonists of the Indo-Pacific zone once again demonstrate the displacement of inter-imperialist confrontations towards Asia. In a context where clashes are sharpening between the giant capitalist monopolies, the questions of the domination of resources, communication channels and control of the labor force are also sharpened and can lead to major conflicts between imperialist powers. That is to say conflicts of inter-State type. Hence the question: what are France's defense policy and strategy in this new international context? It is defined by a contribution by Françoise Dumas, president of the National Defense and Armed Forces Commission of the National Assembly: in the National Defense Review, a contribution unambiguously entitled: “Avoid strategic downgrading by preparing for oncoming conflicts. "
Referring to the Strategic Update 2021, presented on January 21, 2021 by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, Françoise Dumas states that of all the threats listed in this document, she retains a warning:"A direct confrontation between great powers can no longer be ignored". She adds: “In this context, the hypothesis of a direct confrontation of high intensity, below the nuclear threshold, but hybridized by multiple indirect approaches, can no longer be ignored. It is necessary to prepare for it. " For his part, General Thierry Burkhard during his appointment as Chief of Staff of the Land Forces declared: "The balance of power is once again becoming the method of settling disputes between nations... we must resolutely prepare ourselves for it by keeping to mind that high intensity combat becomes a very likely option. " These declarations are not made lightly, it is indeed a question of preparing for high-intensity conflicts and preparing public opinion for them to rally them to the idea that war is inevitable.
Capitalism therefore is a mortal danger for humanity. The peoples have nothing to expect from it but blood and tears, as unfortunately attested so clearly by the two world wars and the imperialist wars waged against the peoples which since then have never ceased to bereave the populations of the world. The resolute struggle for peace and cooperation between peoples requires indeed the overthrow of the capitalist system.