China "Turns Up The Heat" With Threats Against Taiwan

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, over the island's strong rejections.

Since current Vice President Lai Ching-te won the presidency in January - China views Lai as a separatist - Beijing has Snatched away a diplomatic ally, Altered an air route in the narrow Taiwan Strait, Begun regular coast guard patrols around the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands, which hug the Chinese coast."It is a salami-slicing effort; they are slowly turning up the rheostat," he said, referring to a resistor used to control an electric current.

One foreign official tracking security matters in the region described what was happening as a "drip, drip" of pressure, keeping up the message that Beijing does not like Lai, but without holding war games - as it has twice around the island in the past year and a half - or forcing direct military confrontation.