Eo biển Ba Sĩ - điểm nghẽn chiến lược trong cạnh tranh Mỹ-Trung

The Taiwan Strait is a hot spot for an international conflict involving Taiwan and China, and it is a strategic location between the Philippines and Taiwan that plays an important political role in the Taiwan Strait. Let's find out more about this strategic juncture. In a video at 5 a.m. on the Taiwan Strait, two Chinese J-11 aircraft entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone to conduct regular patrols. This has become a popular scene in recent years. What are the aircraft looking for in this area? Why is a strait so far away from the southern coast of Taiwan and the Philippines, more than 300 nautical miles from the Chinese coast, the center of attention? The short answer is that the Taiwan Strait is an important hot spot for both China and the United States. There are two main reasons for this. First, in the event that Taiwan is invaded, the Taiwan Strait will become a hot spot for military operations. Second, this is an important location to develop forces along China's coastline. The Taiwan Strait is of great military significance to Taiwan. It is the gateway to the Pacific Ocean, where it provides the Taiwan army with deep strategic and operational space in the event of a conflict, especially with China. With a limited location in terms of Taiwan's geographical location, controlling and protecting the Taiwan Strait is very important. The Taiwan Strait is a strong point for any invasion of the sea or air from the south, making the defense of the Taiwan Strait an important part of Taiwan's overall military strategy. In addition, the Taiwan Strait is also an essential route for Taiwan's submarines, allowing them to access the Pacific Ocean more widely, while avoiding the waters of the East China Sea, where Chinese ships patrol regularly. The strategic importance of the Taiwan Strait is becoming more and more complex, because in fact it is a bottleneck for global trade and the internet cables under the country connect the South China Sea and South Asia with North America and Japan. All these factors make the Taiwan Strait one of the strategic hubs in the Indo-Pacific region. It competes with the Malacca Strait and the Taiwan Strait for the title of a global strategic location. The Taiwan Strait is a major influence in the US-China confrontation in two main areas, the ability to invade Taiwan and the ability to deploy forces into the South China Sea. The first crossings are the Ionaguni in the north, which is about 70 miles long and separates the island of Taiwan from the westernmost point of Japan, the Ionaguni Island. The Ionaguni Island, although small, but has extraordinary military value, is a key strategic location in Japan's southwest island defense system. This year, Japan has announced that it will deploy cruise missiles to strengthen its defense system. On April 12, 1923, Japan announced a development plan and created a series of advanced long-range missiles with Mitsubishi Heavy Industry. According to Reuters, the contract between Japan and Mitsubishi was worth more than $2.8 billion. Under the agreement, Mitsubishi began to produce two types of missiles, including Type 12 guided missiles launched from the ground, designed to target ships at sea, and hypersonic missiles designed to defend. Japan plans to purchase about 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in February 1923. The Tomahawk missiles in the United States can hit targets up to 1,600 kilometers away. The second crossings are the Taiwan Strait, the most important of the three straits. At its narrowest point, it is about 100 miles long and separates the Fujian Province of China from the western coast of Taiwan. China continues to increase pressure on Taiwan. On September 18, 1923, Taipei announced that within 24 hours, it had detected 103 Chinese warplanes flying around the Taiwan Strait. This is the highest number recorded since August last year. Specifically, Taiwan confirmed that 103 Chinese military aircraft and warships were detected around the island between 6 p.m. on September 17 and 6 p.m. on September 18. According to the Ministry of National Defense, 40 Chinese aircraft have crossed the Taiwan Strait, which is considered an unofficial border between the island and Hualu. According to Taipei, these warplanes have also penetrated air defense identification zones in the southwest and southeast areas of Taiwan. The third and final crossings are the Ba Shi Strait. The so-called Strait, which is less than 90 meters wide and is a waterway between the island of Marbulis, also known as the island of Yami and the island of Lan of Taiwan. For China, when it comes to possible Taiwan invasion strategies, the Ba Shi Strait is one of the most important control points, and this is due to a larger reason, the supply routes. Taiwan's largest port is Kaohsiung, located right next to the Ba Shi Strait. This port is not only listed as the 15th largest container port in the world, but also handles most of the oil and gas products and cargo on the island. Taiwan also has six other major ports, including Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, and Hualien. The ability to transport large quantities of supplies in a short period of time and have enough space to store is very important in an invasion. Oil products, such as fuel for tanks, vehicles such as engines and defense machines, and even refrigerators to supply food, are all necessary for the military's ability to operate on land. If the Chinese military lands in Taiwan, they will need to ensure security for the Kaohsiung port facilities. To put it more broadly, the Ba Shi Strait expands its supply routes to control its supplies and prevent withdrawals from outside of Taiwan. Chinese strategic planners have realized this. At least six live-fire drills were planned around Taiwan in 2022, two of which were planned in the south. The largest exercise, right off Kaohsiung, invaded the Taiwan Strait, while the rest of the exercise took place right on the Ba Shi Strait. This marks a significant difference from the 1995-1996 drills, which took place closer to the Chinese coast and did not interfere with the Taiwan Strait. These drills show that not only the Taiwan Strait itself, but also the straits to the north and south are important. Revealing the supply routes and disrupting these routes are all important factors in the event of an invasion. This is why the Chinese military's aircraft frequently fly over the Taiwan Strait, train how to identify and deal with other forces in the area. Therefore, the Kaohsiung and Ba Shi Straits in the south are particularly important to the Chinese and American commanders. While China uses Kaohsiung as a backup base in the event of an invasion, the US will aim to provide defense forces to Taiwan from bases that have been positioned in the Philippines and Japan. In this context, the Ba Shi Strait provides ideal conditions to prevent access from the Pacific to the South China Sea and vice versa. China's Strategic Strategy The Ba Shi Strait is an important international waterway, which serves as the only access point for more than 50 miles from the Pacific to the South China Sea. This is important for both the United States and China in their military development in the region. The Ba Shi Strait is an ideal deployment point for two main reasons. First, it connects the Philippines with Taiwan, allowing shorter access routes in the event of an invasion. This will allow the US to create narrow access routes from the South to the Philippines and from the North to Japan. Second, the Ba Shi Strait creates an opportunity to prevent the deployment of Chinese troops into the Pacific Ocean, which is the southern coast of Taiwan and the Pacific Ocean. This significantly reduces the Chinese military's possible landing points and makes their every move much easier to predict. While the US Navy can maintain its ships in the region for months, air-to-air fighter jets can only maintain operations for a few hours and need extensive maintenance. Therefore, air-to-air bases, such as aircraft carriers or military bases, are essential for the operation of fighter jets. In April 1923, the Philippines announced that it would build four more military bases. The news of four new US bases on the northern Luzon Island further improved the US' ability to stand in the South China Sea, especially in terms of air superiority. Previously, the Philippines had allowed the US to use five bases under the ADCA Defense Cooperation Agreement, in the context that concerns were growing about China's movements in the South China Sea and tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Thus, the new bases in northern Luzon play an important role in air superiority. In March 1923, the US first deployed F-22s in the Philippines. Two US Air Force F-22 Rattlesnake fighters landed at the Air Force Base Glad in a signalling move about the two countries' efforts to strengthen military cooperation. During the joint exercise between the US and the Philippine allies, the US Air Force F-25 fighter jets, based in Alaska, participated with the Air Force's F-5 fighter jets to carry out low-flying exercises, air combat exercises, formation training with the assistance of the KC-135 Stratotanker fighter jet, carrying out air fueling exercises in the airspace in the South China Sea. This development has increased the ability to cover unprecedented airspace. Previously, the US mainly deployed B-8 or Global Hawk reconnaissance aircraft in the South China Sea. This trend helps to create a deterrent ability to counter long-range bombers of the Chinese Air Force, such as the S-6, in the event of a conflict. The Philippines itself is also increasing its ability to prevent intrusion. The purchase of the PASMOS cruise missiles, produced by India, is an important step to create a real deterrent capability off the coast of the island. From a Chinese perspective, the US establishment of recent bases in the Philippines is a cause for concern for two reasons. First, Chinese decision-makers will have to allocate more resources in the event of an invasion of Taiwan and maintain control of the Pacific and South China Seas. Second, the proximity of these bases means that not only the northern cities of China, but most of the southern cities are within a 6-kilometer radius of the US bases. From a strategic perspective, China lacks what Chairman Mao often used in the civil war, strategic space. Lack of strategic space is an important issue for China because it makes it easy for them to be attacked. In the north, US bases in South Korea and Japan, away from major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, are not 6 kilometers wide. Previously, the South China Sea could be considered China's lake when the Chinese military took control of the airspace and the waters of this country. However, the establishment of US bases in Luzhoun has significantly reduced this strategic space, causing major economic and military centers such as Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Changsha to be at risk of being attacked within 6 kilometers. This situation makes most of China's population and industrial sectors at risk of being in the attack zone of Tomahawk, making significant changes to the balance of power in the region. China's maritime border security is increasingly unstable due to the lack of points of access more than 2 kilometers into the Pacific. The first island chain strategy, from China's point of view, is an important issue because there are only 6 international coastlines with 4 horizontal islands along the Nansai Islands and the remaining 2 islands in the north and south of Taiwan. However, there are only 2 sections larger than 50 meters, that is the Miyako Canal between the Miyako Island and Okinawa and the Basi Strait. These points of access are very important in allowing the connection between the Chinese coast and the open ocean. To better understand China's strategic position, let's imagine a similar perspective from the point of view of the United States. If we look at the first island chain from the Yonkatan Peninsula in Mexico to the Bahamas, the island of Cuba can be Taiwan, and its two northern and southern coastlines will be the Yonaguni and Basi Straits. If China deploys tens of thousands of troops there along with stealth fighter jets, destroyers and long-range ballistic missiles just a few feet away from the United States, theoretically, this country can block the sea routes from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific and the Atlantic. The last time the same thing happened was in 1962, when a nuclear war was about to break out in the world. From this perspective, it can be seen why the Basi Strait is a strategic point for Beijing. The Philippines and the Basi Strait are very necessary in allowing control of the main border from the Pacific to the south of China. Therefore, it is important for China to maintain control of this area to ensure strategic space and border security on the sea. On August 28, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said it had deployed a stealth fighter to track China's BZK-005 military drone. According to the agency, the aircraft was detected flying in the middle of the Yonaguni Island. Previously, the aircraft departed from the East China Sea and went to the Basi Strait. Earlier that day, on August 25, Japan dispatched fighter jets to track Chinese BZK-005 aircraft flying near Okinawa Island, where there is a large U.S. military base. This gateway is not only important for China's strategic plan, but also plays an important role for international submarines. In fact, 97% to 99% of the data flow goes through the submarine network, while the Basi Strait plays a key role in the data transmission between Asia and North America. The submarine network in this country is responsible for transmitting a large amount of information, including information, images, military secrets, and industry, as well as other information. As tensions between the US and China continue to escalate, new submarines are placed at the bottom of the sea to prevent hidden conflicts. However, cutting these submarines may lead to catastrophic consequences. As has been proven by the cutting of two internet submarines in the Taiwan Strait in early March 1923, cutting the network may be a powerful tool in modern warfare. By creating a barrier that hinders the reaction to a military attack, cutting these submarines may have a significant impact on the early stages of a conflict. The northern Philippines and the Basi Strait have become an important hot spot in the US-China confrontation. This is due to its strategic location, which is close to the two key areas of the South China Sea and Taiwan. However, it is important to consider the power movement taking place in Manila. There is no doubt that President Macron's administration played a key role in creating conditions for a long-term presence and the US structure in the South China Sea and southern Taiwan. But the question remains, how long will the US be allowed to maintain its presence on the island? Beijing is determined to abandon this strategic advantage over Washington. Despite political changes, geographical factors will continue to play an important role in the US-China confrontation for many generations to come. The Basi Strait and the Philippines will remain important locations in this power struggle.