Turmoil in the South China Sea and Taiwan strait: US leads alliance forces to Indo-Pacific

Three days after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-de assumed office, Beijing unexpectedly conducted military exercises around Taiwan. In response, the U.S. Pacific Fleet announced that it would hold the 2024 Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, military exercises on June 26. Twenty-nine countries will participate, strengthening the formation compared to previous exercises. The participating countries include the Philippines, which frequently conflicts with Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, and Japan, which also has tense diplomatic relations with Beijing. Members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or QUAD, the U.S., Japan, India, and Australia, as well as members of AUKUS, Australia, the U.K., and the U.S., will all participate in the exercises. RIMPAC, held biennially, is the world's largest international maritime exercise. Analysts believe this exercise aims to send a deterrent signal to the CCP. Currently, Beijing is interfering with the sovereignty of other nations in the Indo-Pacific, through both military threats and political infiltration. The recent military involvement with the Philippines at the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea exemplifies this. Additionally, Beijing is using similar tactics against Taiwan, undermining President Lai and threatening the Taiwanese people with military exercises around the island. The BBC reported that this CCP exercise is different from previous ones, because officials only announced it after it began. It's also the first time that China has conducted exercises covering Taiwan's outer islands so close to Taiwanese territory. On the first day, the Chinese navy approached within 24 nautical miles of Taiwan, a highly provocative action that violates the UN Charter. Unlike the military exercises following former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan two years ago, the Chinese military did not delineate restricted or no-fly zones this time. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense believes Beijing's clear intent is regional dominance, and describes this behavior as highly unwise. However, Yao Cheng, a former lieutenant colonel and officer of the Chinese Navy Command, wrote that there is no need to worry about this military exercise, as Beijing primarily wants to showcase its power to the Chinese people. Yao also emphasized that the most crucial issue for the CCP is the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. China's economy is in turmoil, and further sanctions could prevent the government from even paying the military.