Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of Global Times, a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship People’s Daily newspaper, threatened to launch a war on Tuesday to eliminate and expel the American soldiers stationed in Taiwan, an island nation that China claims as a part of its territory under its “One China Principle”.
Xijin shared a screenshot of a tweet posted by US Senator John Cornyn, who had shared the break-up of the number of US troops present in different parts of the world. In his tweet, Cornyn had alleged that the US maintains 30,000 troops in the island nation of Taiwan, along with 28,000, 35,486, 50,000 and 7,000 in South Korea, Germany, Japan and Africa respectively.
The revelation that the United States allegedly has 30,000 troops in Taiwan raised the hackles of the editor-in-chief of Chinese state media Global Times, who then proceeded to threaten war against the US and Taiwan to drive out the American forces.
In a tweet, Xijin said, “Now, the US and the Taiwan authorities must explain. If it is true that the US has 30,000, or less than the number, soldiers stationed on the Taiwan island, Chinese military forces will immediately launch a war to eliminate and expel the US soldiers.”
In a subsequent tweet, Xijin said he has been informed that John Cornyn had mistaken the current number of US troops in Taiwan with the number of previous US troops stationed in Taiwan before China and the US had set up diplomatic relations. Xijin said he believes the senator is not confused and he is simply testing China’s “patience”. The response to him, Xijin added, is war.
While Xijin’s threat cannot be considered as the official stance of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that rules over China, he is, nevertheless, considered as the mouthpiece of the party, voicing concerns that hew to party’s ideology and resonate with the CCP leaders.
Taliban takes control of Afghanistan amidst US drawdown from the country
The threat came on the back of the American drawdown in Afghanistan that saw the Taliban coming to power in the strife-torn country. The crisis that is unravelling in Afghanistan is largely attributed to US president Joe Biden’s decision to announce the complete withdrawal of American forces after a 20-year-long war in the country.
Following the US withdrawal announcement, the Taliban escalated its offensive, swallowing city after city, often without firing a bullet. On Sunday, the offensive reached a crescendo when the Talibani terrorists stormed the capital, effectively sealing the control of the country as US-backed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani joined the exodus of his fellow citizens and foreigners.
