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China's military exercises around Taiwan aren't mere posturing. Xi has vowed to retake what he regards as a breakaway province. China is practicing for the upcoming military operation to secure its view of "One China".

What China gains by conducting these maneuvers is asserting them as acceptable. They were extremely close to Formosa's shores. These actions amounted to a partially-enacted blockade, with actual disruption to shipping.

An invasion would not be the correct way to conquer Taiwan. Being an island, with very limited natural resources, it's dependent on external trade for its food, energy, fuel, and raw materials to produce anything it might be able to trade for these.

Only 6% of total and 16% of electric power in Taiwan comes from import-independent sources. It has three nuclear reactors and a minor amount of renewables, which isn't enough for the essential services. Taiwan is a net food importer, with the majority of their imports coming from China, followed by the US.

China's conquest of Taiwan would most likely be through a blockade. However much people might value freedom, they value food and roof over their head more - modern cities become uninhabitable without power. China knows this and is likely to use it, be it Xi or someone that comes later. They're drilling for just this.

P.S. Under international law, blockade is a war operation. It's distinct from trade sanctions, which are not. Once established, "a public notification given by the belligerent to a neutral government is ordinarily sufficient to convict all subjects of that government of the requisite guilty intent", should they attempt to run the blockade.

To continue citing the law, "The vessels of neutrals are affected, and this right of a belligerent is universally admitted." The cargo of a ship guilty of breach of blockade is subject to confiscation, as well as the ship, with a few exemptions.

The important part is that the enforcement of a blockade is part of war between the blockader and the owner of the blockaded port. Ships attempting to run it would be subject to attack or seizure without creating a state of war with their owner or flag nations.

It's been a while since these laws were invoked, of course. Today, wars are rarely even declared. What this mean in practice is that if neither China nor US want to go to war with one another, they don't have to, even with one attempting to run the blockade and the other enforcing it.

China's military exercises around Taiwan aren't mere posturing. Xi has vowed to retake what he regards as a breakaway province. China is practicing for the upcoming military operation to secure its view of "One China".

What China gains by conducting these maneuvers is asserting them as acceptable. They were extremely close to Formosa's shores. These actions amounted to a partially-enacted blockade, with actual disruption to shipping.

An invasion would not be the most effective way to conquer Taiwan. Being an island, with very limited natural resources, it's dependent on external trade for its food, energy, fuel, and raw materials to produce anything it might be able to trade for these.

Only 6% of total and 16% of electric power in Taiwan comes from import-independent sources. It has three nuclear reactors and a minor amount of renewables, which isn't enough for the essential services. Taiwan is a net food importer, with the majority of their imports coming from China, followed by the US.

China's conquest of Taiwan would most likely be through a blockade. However much people might value freedom, they value food and roof over their head more - modern cities become uninhabitable without power. China knows this and is likely to use it, be it Xi or someone that comes later. They're drilling for just this.

P.S. Under international law, blockade is a war operation. It's distinct from an embargo, which is the strongest non-war measure against trade. 

Once a blockade has been proclaimed, "a public notification given by the belligerent to a neutral government is ordinarily sufficient to convict all subjects of that government of the requisite guilty intent", should they attempt to run the blockade.

To continue citing the law, "The vessels of neutrals are affected, and this right of a belligerent is universally admitted." The cargo of a ship guilty of breach of blockade is subject to confiscation, as well as the ship, with a few exemptions.

Actions taken for the enforcement of a blockade remain part of the war between the blockader and the owner of the blockaded port. Ships attempting to run it would be subject to attack or seizure without creating a state of war with their owner or flag nations.

It's been a while since these laws were invoked, of course. Today, wars are rarely even declared. What this mean in practice is that if neither China nor US want to go to war with one another, they don't have to, even with one attempting to run the blockade and the other enforcing it.

China's military exercises around Taiwan aren't mere posturing. Xi has vowed to retake what he regards as a breakaway province. China is practicing for the upcoming military operation to secure its view of "One China".

What China gains by conducting these maneuvers is asserting them as acceptable. They were extremely close to Formosa's shores. These actions amounted to a partially-enacted blockade, with actual disruption to shipping.

An invasion would not be the correct way to conquer Taiwan. Being an island, with very limited natural resources, it's dependent on external trade for its food, energy, fuel, and raw materials to produce anything it might be able to trade for these.

Only 6% of total and 16% of electric power in Taiwan comes from import-independent sources. It has three nuclear reactors and a minor amount of renewables, which isn't enough for the essential services. Taiwan is a net food importer, with the majority of their imports coming from China, followed by the US.

China's conquest of Taiwan would most likely be through a blockade. However much people might value freedom, they value food and roof over their head more - modern cities become uninhabitable without power. China knows this and is likely to use it, be it Xi or someone that comes later. They're drilling for just this.

P.S. Under international law, blockade is a war operation. It's distinct from trade sanctions, which are not. Once established, "a public notification given by the belligerent to a neutral government is ordinarily sufficient to convict all subjects of that government of the requisite guilty intent", should they attempt to run the blockade.

To continue citing the law, "The vessels of neutrals are affected, and this right of a belligerent is universally admitted." The cargo of a ship guilty of breach of blockade is subject to confiscation, as well as the ship, with a few exemptions.

It's been a while since these laws were invoked in practice, of course. The important part is that a blockade is war between the blockader and the owner of the blockaded port. Any neutral ships running it would be in violation of the blockade, allowing China to sink or seize them without entering a state of war with their owner nations.

China's military exercises around Taiwan aren't mere posturing. Xi has vowed to retake what he regards as a breakaway province. China is practicing for the upcoming military operation to secure its view of "One China".

What China gains by conducting these maneuvers is asserting them as acceptable. They were extremely close to Formosa's shores. These actions amounted to a partially-enacted blockade, with actual disruption to shipping.

An invasion would not be the correct way to conquer Taiwan. Being an island, with very limited natural resources, it's dependent on external trade for its food, energy, fuel, and raw materials to produce anything it might be able to trade for these.

Only 6% of total and 16% of electric power in Taiwan comes from import-independent sources. It has three nuclear reactors and a minor amount of renewables, which isn't enough for the essential services. Taiwan is a net food importer, with the majority of their imports coming from China, followed by the US.

China's conquest of Taiwan would most likely be through a blockade. However much people might value freedom, they value food and roof over their head more - modern cities become uninhabitable without power. China knows this and is likely to use it, be it Xi or someone that comes later. They're drilling for just this.

P.S. Under international law, blockade is a war operation. It's distinct from trade sanctions, which are not. Once established, "a public notification given by the belligerent to a neutral government is ordinarily sufficient to convict all subjects of that government of the requisite guilty intent", should they attempt to run the blockade.

To continue citing the law, "The vessels of neutrals are affected, and this right of a belligerent is universally admitted." The cargo of a ship guilty of breach of blockade is subject to confiscation, as well as the ship, with a few exemptions.

The important part is that the enforcement of a blockade is part of war between the blockader and the owner of the blockaded port. Ships attempting to run it would be subject to attack or seizure without creating a state of war with their owner or flag nations.

It's been a while since these laws were invoked, of course. Today, wars are rarely even declared. What this mean in practice is that if neither China nor US want to go to war with one another, they don't have to, even with one attempting to run the blockade and the other enforcing it.

China's military exercises around Taiwan aren't mere posturing. Xi has vowed to retake what he regards as a breakaway province. China is practicing for the upcoming military operation to secure its view of "One China".

What China gains by conducting these maneuvers is asserting them as acceptable. They were extremely close to Formosa's shores. These actions amounted to a partially-enacted blockade, with actual disruption to shipping.

An invasion would not be the correct way to conquer Taiwan. Being an island, with very limited natural resources, it's dependent on external trade for its food, energy, fuel, and raw materials to produce anything it might be able to trade for these.

Only 6% of total and 16% of electric power in Taiwan comes from import-independent sources. It has three nuclear reactors and a minor amount of renewables, which isn't enough for the essential services. Taiwan is a net food importer, with the majority of their imports coming from China, followed by the US.

China's conquest of Taiwan would most likely be through a blockade. However much people might value freedom, they value food and roof over their head more - modern cities become uninhabitable without power. China knows this and is likely to use it, be it Xi or someone that comes later. They're drilling for just this.

China's military exercises around Taiwan aren't mere posturing. Xi has vowed to retake what he regards as a breakaway province. China is practicing for the upcoming military operation to secure its view of "One China".

What China gains by conducting these maneuvers is asserting them as acceptable. They were extremely close to Formosa's shores. These actions amounted to a partially-enacted blockade, with actual disruption to shipping.

An invasion would not be the correct way to conquer Taiwan. Being an island, with very limited natural resources, it's dependent on external trade for its food, energy, fuel, and raw materials to produce anything it might be able to trade for these.

Only 6% of total and 16% of electric power in Taiwan comes from import-independent sources. It has three nuclear reactors and a minor amount of renewables, which isn't enough for the essential services. Taiwan is a net food importer, with the majority of their imports coming from China, followed by the US.

China's conquest of Taiwan would most likely be through a blockade. However much people might value freedom, they value food and roof over their head more - modern cities become uninhabitable without power. China knows this and is likely to use it, be it Xi or someone that comes later. They're drilling for just this.

P.S. Under international law, blockade is a war operation. It's distinct from trade sanctions, which are not. Once established, "a public notification given by the belligerent to a neutral government is ordinarily sufficient to convict all subjects of that government of the requisite guilty intent", should they attempt to run the blockade.

To continue citing the law, "The vessels of neutrals are affected, and this right of a belligerent is universally admitted." The cargo of a ship guilty of breach of blockade is subject to confiscation, as well as the ship, with a few exemptions.

It's been a while since these laws were invoked in practice, of course. The important part is that a blockade is war between the blockader and the owner of the blockaded port. Any neutral ships running it would be in violation of the blockade, allowing China to sink or seize them without entering a state of war with their owner nations.