China’s latest round of drills near Taiwan confirms Beijing’s intent to use the military as its primary tool of influence over the island, which will accelerate supply chain decoupling by impeding China’s trade and diplomatic relations with the West. On Aug. 19, the Chinese military conducted joint air and sea drills in the waters north, east and southwest of the main island of Taiwan, with at least 25 planes crossing the Taiwan Strait median line, according to the PLA Daily, the official newspaper of China’s military. The PLA Daily report said the drills were in response to Taiwanese Vice President and leading presidential candidate William Lai’s transit stops in the United States on Aug. 12-13 and again on Aug. 16-17 on either end of his trip to Paraguay. The paper also published a piece on Aug. 19 under the pseudonym Jun Sheng (which translates to ”voice of the army”) that…
