China Says Based On Afghanistan, There’s No Way US Will Be Able To Defend Taiwan

With US troops leaving Afghanistan and the Taliban taking over, other countries are taking notice. Some view the United States' decision to pull our soldiers as a sign that we will abandon our allies. Amongst those expressing concern is China, who's questioning whether the US will defend Taiwan.

A Global Times editorial questioned what would happen should a war break out: "Once a cross-Straits war breaks out while the mainland seizes the island with forces, the US would have to have a much greater determination than it had for Afghanistan, Syria, and Vietnam if it wants to interfere."

The Global Times is an online tabloid launched in 2009 that describes itself as a media space that tentatively broke away from the journalistic tradition seen as normal in the Chinese media landscape, which avoids touching upon conflict and confrontation. It, however, distances itself from the other extreme, namely, designed provocation that is common in Western media’s China reportage. Given the circumstances in China, the Global Times takes great pains to present facts and views that could help the readers better understand China.

Within their editorial, Global Times compared the recent US exit from Afghanistan as abandonment: "Taiwan is the region that relies on the protection of the US the most in Asia, and the island's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have made Taiwan go further and further down this abnormal path. The situation in Afghanistan suddenly saw a radical change after the country was abandoned by the US. And Washington just left despite the worsening situation in Kabul. Is this some kind of omen of Taiwan's future fate?"

Hopefully we won't reach the point of finding out whether the United States needs to defend Taiwan.