Washington needs to answer Beijing’s growing aggression toward Taiwan

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In its annual defense white paper, Japan on Tuesday issued a dire warning about Taiwan: A China storm is brewing around the free island of 23 million.

“The stability of the situation around Taiwan is important, not only for the security of our country, but for the stability of the international community,” Japan’s Defense Ministry said. “Our country must pay close attention to this, with an even greater sense of vigilance.”

Tokyo’s right — and it ought to know, as it’s also on the receiving end of the Chinese Communist Party’s aggression. Over the last year, Beijing has been increasing the presence of China Coast Guard vessels by the Senkaku Islands just north of Japan.

A day after Japan released its white paper, Chinese coast guard vessels took off for those very same waters.

But China’s aggression against Taiwan is far more pointed. It has repeatedly threatened to take the island by force, arguing that it belongs to Beijing — which, under President Xi Jinping, has grown far more belligerent in asserting its rule wherever it can. Only Taiwan’s own considerable defense force and the fear that an invasion could trigger a far wider Pacific war keep the island safe and free.

But that doesn’t stop Beijing from constantly testing those defenses. It’s been sending warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone almost daily, more than 350 flights in the first half of this year, vs. 380 total in 2020.

On June 15, Beijing sent in a record 28 planes in a single day. Early July brought a nine-day stretch of sorties — a clear answer to the G7 statement emphasizing the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

This spring also saw Beijing conduct nine long-distance naval-air training drills in the Western Pacific, the most frequent in recent years, Taiwan’s Cultural and Economic Office in New York told The Post.

It’s all plainly a test of the Biden administration: Will it protect Taiwan?

For decades, the United States has maintained a policy of strategic ambiguity, refusing to say publicly if it will come to Taiwan’s defense in the event of a mainland attack. But signals of weakness from Washington could lead Beijing to guess the answer is “No” — and finally make the move it’s threatened for so long.

The Biden team has sailed Navy ships through the strait a couple of times, but that’s not enough. It needs to answer China’s provocations with its own maneuvers, ideally in concert with Japan and other allies, to keep the peace.

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