Cadence of Conflict: Asia, October 18, 2021

According to Chinese and US claims, China has a high-orbit, hypersonic missile that can hit a target within 24 miles. And, that’s why China is the new boss of the world and everyone else should hate America. The end.

But, that’s not the end in the mind of Taiwan or the US Pentagon. This week, Taiwan asked the Pentagon to speed up its delivery of 22 F-16s. They were expected around 2029, but Taiwan claims China could invade by 2025. China may not agree to wait until 2025, especially since the new Communist hypersonic missile has been tested and even written about in the Global Times. All we need is a Global Times article to announce that China is strong enough to invade Taiwan at anytime, then the People’s Liberation Army would be fully prepared to show Confucian Communist love to the whole world.

Trade & Tech

TSMC and Sony considering joint chip factory // iTnews

China

Beijing mocks America saying their new 21,000mph nuclear-capable missile is ‘a new blow to the US’ // Daily Mail

China Reports Progress on U.S. Disputes Before Biden-Xi Summit // Bloomberg

Taiwan

EU committee planning Taiwan visit: sources // Taipei Times

Taiwan asks US to speed up F-16 delivery: CNN // Taipei Times

Taiwan bookstore chain Eslite recalibrates business strategy to ‘go small’ // Taiwan News

Taiwan should reduce its trade dependency on China: ROCCOC // Focus Taiwan