U.S. Venezuela Strike to Embolden China’s Territorial Claims

The U.S. attack on Venezuela will embolden China to strengthen its territorial claims over areas such as Taiwan and parts of the South China Sea but will not hasten any potential invasion of Taiwan, analysts said, Brenda Goh and Laurie Chen reported for Reuters.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own province — a claim rejected by the island’s government — and asserts control over almost all of the South China Sea. (Photo: Philippine Coast Guard)

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s considerations regarding Taiwan and his timeline are separate from the situation in Latin America and are influenced more by China’s domestic conditions than by U.S. actions, the analysts said.

Still, President Donald Trump’s audacious raid, which captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, has handed China an unexpected opportunity that Beijing is likely to use in the near term to amplify criticism of Washington and bolster its own standing on the international stage.

Further ahead, Beijing could leverage Trump’s move to defend its stance against the U.S. on territorial issues, including Taiwan, Tibet, and islands in the East and South China seas.

“Washington’s consistent, long-standing argument is that Chinese actions violate international law, but this is now undermining that position,” said William Yang, an analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.

“It’s creating a lot of openings and cheap ammunition for the Chinese to push back against the U.S. in the future.”

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own province — a claim rejected by the island’s government — and asserts control over almost all of the South China Sea, putting it at odds with several Southeast Asian nations that also claim parts of the vital trade route, Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard also reported for Reuters.