China simulating attacks on U.S. ships ?

Is communist China simulating attacks on U.S. Navy ships ? Is it aiming to prevent foreign forces from coming to Taiwan's aid in the event of its war against the island nation ?

Observers say it would be naïve to rule out the dragon's military designs in the region. Tensions between communist China and self-governed, democratic Taiwan have soared following the recent visits to Taipei by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and some other members of the Congress . Beijing carried out war games after Pelosi's trip and has been continuing its military activities near the island.

Beijing views the Pelosi-kind visits to Taiwan as an interference in its internal affairs. China claims Taiwan as its own territory . It seeks to unify the island with the mainland by force, if needed. Taiwan's defence ministry confirms China is focusing on the first island chain, which runs from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, enclosing China's coastal seas.

China may be perceiving itself to be in a better position now to wage a war against Taiwan. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Beijing and Moscow have grown closer. Reports are that in April this year, China coordinated a Russian cyberattack on Ukrainian military and nuclear facilities prior to Russia's ground invasion of the country. The computer network exploitation attacks targeted over 600 Ukrainian websites.

Moscow and Beijing today have an "anti-U.S. alignment. They share "no limits" to their national interests. Following Speaker Pelosi's trip to Taiwan in early August, Russian President Putin drew parallels between U.S. support for Ukraine and Pelosi's trip and described them both as part of alleged efforts by Washington to foment global instability.

In the recent months, Russia and China have held a diverse range of bilateral and multilateral military exercises. China has made it clear that the aim of such exercises is " to deepen practical and friendly cooperation with the armies of participating countries... and strengthen the ability to respond to various security threats."

Pertinently, China-Russia economic cooperation is growing . In May this year, Chinese imports of Russian oil increased by 55 percent from the same month the previous year. In June , Russia became China's largest oil supplier. In July, Chinese exports to Russia were valued at $6.7 billion. Russia has a deal to supply 100 million tons of coal to its southern neighbour.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

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