China sends chilling warning to Taiwan, says fall of Kabul to Taliban tarnishes US credibility
The United States’ recent withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan has provided ammunition for China to warn Taiwan of the “bitter fruits of war” suggesting the US will abandon the island nation.
China’s propaganda mouthpiece the Global Times has warned Taiwan that once warfare breaks out, the Island’s defences will “collapse in hours” as the US will not offer support.
Afghanistan's capital Kabul fell to Taliban forces on Sunday as US and Coalition troops neared the end of their 20-year deployment.
Former US President Donald Trump made the decision to withdraw the country’s troops from Afghanistan in his final year in office.
President Joe Biden confirmed the move, announcing American troops would be entirely removed by September 11.
The Taliban took advantage of the mass exit of foreign troops, and engaged in a cross-country onslaught seizing key regional centres before taking Kabul over the weekend.
An opinion piece in the Global Times - one of China’s key propaganda media organisations - pointed to the US’s decision to withdraw troops as the root cause of the “rapid demise of the Kabul government”.
The article said America’s readiness to leave Afghanistan should send warning signs to the people of Taiwan.
“How Washington abandoned the Kabul regime particularly shocked some in Asia, including the island of Taiwan,” it said.
“The situation in Afghanistan suddenly saw a radical change after the country was abandoned by the US. And Washington just left despite the worsening situation in Kabul. Is this some kind of omen of Taiwan's future fate?
“They must have been nervous and feel an ominous presentiment. They must have known better in secret that the US is not reliable.
“This has dealt a heavy blow to the credibility and reliability of the US.”
China has ramped up its rhetoric in recent months, further suggesting war with Taiwan is inevitable, as well as increased incursions into Taiwanese airspace.
The United States presents as a major Taiwanese ally should China attempt an invasion.
But the Global Times warned the US would need a “much greater determination” than it had for Afghanistan to interfere.
“A military intervention of the US will be a move to change the status quo in the Taiwan Straits, and this will make Washington pay a huge price rather than earn profit,” it said.
“But the difference is the deeper hopelessness of a US victory if it gets itself involved in a cross-Straits war. Such a war would mean unthinkable costs for the US.
“From what happened in Afghanistan, they (Taiwan’s leadership) should perceive that once a war breaks out in the Straits, the island's defense will collapse in hours and the US military won't come to help.
“They need to change their course of bonding themselves to the anti-Chinese mainland chariot of the US.”
The United States has not expressly indicated it will intervene in a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, but is a significant provider of arms to the island nation in an attempt to boost its defences.
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