Le Monde: For these five reasons, China wants to annex Taiwan

The newspaper "Le Monde" said that China's plan to invade Taiwan by force if necessary has basic historical, strategic and geopolitical reasons, the most important of which is seeking to find an opportunity to seize control of the island and dismantle US alliances in the region.

The French newspaper "Le Monde" said that China's plan to invade Taiwan by force if necessary has basic historical, strategic and geopolitical reasons, the most important of which is seeking to find an opportunity to lay its hands on the island and dismantle US alliances in the region.

The newspaper detailed these five reasons, in an article by Gary Dagorn, which initially denied any legitimacy for China's rule of Taiwan, noting that Beijing, after expressing its lack of entitlement to rule the island, returned to claim it suddenly after it survived the civil war in 1949.

1- Strive to rule all Chinese speakers

Stefan Kurcoff, a geologist and researcher at the French Center for Contemporary China Studies based in Taipei, says that the Chinese Communist Party considers the "Taiwanese problem" an internal affair and does not allow any external interference in this region, which was never controlled by China, noting that "Chinese unification does not aim to Reunification of Taiwan and China but to annex a sovereign country, on the basis of historical, ethnic and linguistic matters."

"China claims sovereignty over Taiwan by talking about reunification, but the term is absolutely inappropriate, because Taiwan has never been Chinese," asserts researcher Marianne-Peron-Duas of the Institute of International and Strategic Relations.

2- The dismantling of American alliances

The present China in 2022 no longer had a great relationship with communist China in late 1949, after its astonishing economic development in the second half of the 20th century enabled it to assert itself as a great power and enter into competition with the United States, but the geography of the East and South China Seas region as well as the alliances of its neighbors Frustrate her ambitions for domination.

"Beijing is somehow confined to the China seas, and does not have free access to the Pacific Ocean, because it has a series of islands with which it has a tense relationship," says Marc Julien, head of China's activities in the Asia Center of the French Institute of International Relations. A joint defense with the Americans, and there are air bases for them.

The newspaper warns that one of the goals of the military annexation of Taiwan is to significantly weaken the American presence in the region and confirm Chinese hegemony, as “Taiwan is a kind of lock for China on the Pacific Ocean,” as Mark Julian says, and its annexation will make the Chinese army able to deter the United States from interfering in The region, because access to it will be difficult, and "when the United States is no longer able to defend Japan, the alliance will not last."

3- Expanding the range of nuclear submarines

The annexation of Taiwan may be related to nuclear deterrence, especially the ocean component - according to the newspaper - because many geographical elements limit the maneuvering capabilities of Chinese ballistic missile submarines, especially since the current network between the two island chains allows US allies to easily detect Chinese submarines that want to reach the Pacific Ocean. .

Mark Julian points out that "the Japanese, the Americans, and the Taiwanese have very good anti-submarine warfare capabilities, and they are able to track this type of submarine," forcing the Chinese to rely on their "surface-to-surface" ballistic missiles that are inherently more vulnerable than submarines.

4- Strengthening other territorial and maritime claims

The annexation of Taiwan - as the newspaper sees - would serve Beijing's other goals, such as its numerous territorial and maritime claims, and researcher Dawes says that "we must re-pose the problem of the Taiwan Strait within the framework of the greater global expansion of Chinese naval power," especially that controlling Taiwan means China's expansion of its area. Exclusive economic and restrictions on shipping.

5- Dominate the semiconductor market in Taiwan

Finally, the seizure of Taiwan would allow the Beijing regime to control the semiconductor industry there, which accounts for a large part of global production (63%), and these components are essential for the manufacture of high-tech products such as phones, planes, solar panels, etc., which are essential for the global economy.