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President Xi Jinping of China’s Belt and Road initiative infrastructure scheme has been recognised as a pre-cursor to Beijing’s ambition to become a global naval power. Royal Navy bosses have recently highlighted China as the major threat to the UK because Beijing has access to a new strategic sea route to the North Atlantic through the Arctic Sea. Speaking to Express.co.uk publisher of the Journal of Political Risk Anders Corr said: “China’s fast-growing navy, taking advantage of a network of ports and facilities, could eventually outcompete that of the US and allies if we continue to empower it through deindustrializing our economies to its advantage.
“Expanding military power depends upon the economic power of the territory into which it expands.
“Eventually if China eclipses the US and allies on the seas, it could take advantage of their current freedom, which is a power vacuum, to tax the sea trade.
“At that point freedom of the seas would be over, and China would be able to increase its military strength by multiples.
“China then would achieve an enduring global hegemony.”
The news comes after Beijing sent a record-breaking number of military planes into Taiwan’s “air defence identification zone” in recent months.
China’s muscle-flexing has sent a clear message that they want to “reunify” Taiwan with mainland China.
Xi Jinping has stated that the potential use of taking Taiwan by force has not been ruled out.
Tensions have escalated in the Taiwan Strait after Beijing reacted with fury after the US and Canada sent warships into the maritime zone near the island democracy.
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This has led US military officials to state: “Dewey’s and Winnipeg’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
On Sunday, Chinese officials denounced the US deployment.
Beijing released their own statement saying: “Taiwan is part of Chinese territory.
“Theatre forces always maintain a high level of alert and resolutely counter all threats and provocations.”
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