While it is perhaps still at the level of a soft but distinct riff of a snare drum, the drums of war are beating. I believe the time is now for the issue of war over Taiwan's separatist movement to be thoroughly discussed, debated, argued, what have you. There is too much rumbling beneath the surface of the question for it to remain just an academic point for study and casual musing. Some the worst man-made cataclysms in history happened because of an accidental spark in a highly combustible environment of misunderstandings and brinksmanship.
As all of you have seen of late, there have been a number of articles, news briefs, uncertain pronouncements, and a lot of blogging over this matter. Something is in the wind. I am not an alarmist. I am not saying war is inevitable. Just the opposite is what I wish. In the bright light of public knowledge and debate the inevitable can be thwarted.
If you think the constant conflagration in the Middle East is the world's greatest threat to stability, please imagine what a war between nations with modern weapons, including nuclear bombs, would be like: war between coalitions that could include China, America, the two Koreas, Taiwan and Japan? It is unthinkable, but it could happen with just one wrong move at the wrong time.
TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwanese fighter jets practiced landing on a highway that was temporarily closed to traffic early Wednesday, a rare drill to prepare pilots for the possible bombing of air bases by China, officials said.
The island has not held such an exercise in 26 years, and it comes as China conducts war games that Beijing's state-controlled media have said are practice for a long-threatened attack on Taiwan.
Using the highway as a runway is part of Taiwan's series of annual war games, called the Hankuang, or Chinese Glory, said Defense Ministry spokesman Huang Shuey-sheng. Two French-made Mirage jets practiced landing, refueling, reloading and taking off on the road, he said.
One popular war scenario has China destroying Taiwan's air strips with short-range missiles and bombers. To deal with such a loss, the Taiwanese have designated several sections of highway as emergency runways.
The military began blocking off a five mile section of the freeway in southern Tainan County at 3 a.m. Wednesday. Military crews walked shoulder-to-shoulder down the highway, sweeping away stones and other debris. Helicopters were used to scare away birds that might get sucked into the jets' engines.
Shortly after dawn, the two Mirage jets touched down on the highway, and crews began servicing the aircraft. Local television covered the drill live, while a crowd of residents and military buffs watched from a distance.
Shu Hsiao-huang, an editor of the local magazine Defense International, said using the highways was a wise strategy. "With the spare runways, China would have to use up more missiles, and this would reduce our risks and increase their costs," Shu said.
On Tuesday, Taiwan's military urged the public not to worry about the large-scale military exercises China is holding this month on Dongshan Island, off China's southern coast. The military dismissed them as routine annual drills.
But China's state-controlled media have warned that one purpose of the drills was to discourage Taiwan from seeking formal independence. Some Taiwanese — especially younger residents — oppose unification with China.
A recent English-language article on the People's Daily Online Web site reported that the drills were a warning to "Taiwan Independence elements" that the Chinese military "is capable and confident in settling the Taiwan issue by military force."
Put the above with the report below from last week, keeping in mind the major military exercises on Dongshan Island in Fujian Province, and I believe you can only conclude that it is time for civilian voices to be heard.
The exercise, called Dragon's Thunder, was held on Monday at the Pentagon's National Defense University, or NDU, even as China prepared to stage a mock invasion of the self-governing island.
