How did China's navy begin to erase imaginary Taiwan Strait median line

With Beijing's modernised navy asserting its strength, the line running down the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China is looking increasingly meaningless.

The imaginary line was devised by a US general, Benjamin Oliver Davis Juniorin 1954 at the height of Cold War hostility between Communist China and US-backed Taiwan. Although China never officially recognised the line but the People's Liberation Army largely respected it.

Taipei is bracing for warships from China's much larger navy which is routinely pushing over the line since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

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A Taiwanese official familiar with security planning in the region told news agency Reuters, "They want to increase pressure on us with the end goal of us giving up the median line."

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Highlighting that a change in the status quo could not be tolerated, foreign minister Joseph Wu said that Taiwan needs to join hands with ''like-minded partners to make sure that the median line is still there.''

If Chinese forces entered its 12 nautical miles of territorial waters, Taiwan would have to react militarily but it has no immediate plan to give the coastguard more authority to respond.

Reiterating that Taiwan will neither provoke nor escalate a conflict, President Tsai Ing-wen pointed out that Taipei is modernising its army as a precaution.

Since the imaginary line has no legal standing, it is questionable whether international support for Taiwan is sufficient to deter China from patrolling Taiwan's side of one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

The Taiwan Strait is about 180 km (110 miles) wide and the median line is about 40 km (25 miles) from Taiwan's waters at its narrowest.

Taiwanese officials warned that an established Chinese naval presence close to Taipei's territorial waters would stretch its military and make any Chinese blockade or invasion much easier.

Not only a redundant median line helps China to project its power inthe Pacific, but it would also usher in further challenges to the long-standing USdominance near Beijing's seas.

Claiming that the median line "did not exist", Chinese ships are attempting to manoeuvre around Taiwanese patrols to cross it.

The "overthrowing" of the median line consensus had increased the risk of accidental conflict, according to experts.

Underscoring what they see as its status as an international waterway, the US ships areexpected to sail through the Taiwan Strait within weeks but they are not expected to challenge Chinese vessels on either side of the median line.

(With inputs from agencies)

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