China wants U.S. out of play before tackling Taiwan. But it gets worse.

 From Richard Fernandez:

(China) lacks the amphibious capacity to land the 30-plus brigades it will need to overcome the island’s defense. China does not appear to be currently investing in the equipment likely required for a direct assault on Taiwan.   ..... to overcome 22 defending brigades, the buildup could not easily be concealed, and there should be no surprises. ... Beijing’s current naval build implies that the prerequisite for taking Taipei is neutralizing the U.S. navy. ... the CCP thinks Washington must “fall” before Taipei can be stormed. .. the key to encirclement’s success is Washington’s reaction. So, while 77 Chinese combat aircraft have provocatively intruded into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, their real purpose is to beat like rain on the windows of the Oval Office to attract the attention of the man within. ....Looming large over the scene is the perception that China is becoming more dangerous because it is a declining power. As the American Enterprise Institute put it, based on a recent piece in Foreign Policy, “The United States needs to prepare for a major war, not because its rival is rising but because of the opposite.” ..

Alex Lo of the South China Morning Post poses the question: “Suppose both China and the US are in decline …?     I ask our wise political scientists: if both superpowers are in decline or have peaked, are they more or less likely to go at each other’s throats? Well, judging by the aforementioned discussions, if both sides are in decline, wouldn’t both be the problem?

More significant detail and links are in the source article by Fernandez.
His "Wretchard the Cat"  twitter feed is rewarding to follow also.

UPDATE:  Over 150 military flights outside the 12 nautical miles line but within the Air Defense Identification zone have now taken place in October with 52 October 4th alone.  12 nautical miles is scarcely one minute of flying time for a warplane.

UPDATE: Chinese state media (Global TImes) call Taiwan "an evil force the mainland must crush" and defend the intrusions on Taiwanese air space as training to "familiarize itself with battlefield conditions". 

UPDATE:  Maybe Taiwan has nuclear weapons (neutron bombs).   This hasn't been in the news but would give Xi pause.

Does Taiwan have nuclear weapons?
While Taiwan has pursued several programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, there has never been public acknowledgement the island nation has such devices. Reportedly, Taiwan began working to build a nuclear weapon after China’s first nuclear test in 1964. Though it reportedly produced plutonium for the program during the 1970s, the official story line is that U.S. ultimately pressured Taipei to officially halt the research in 1976. Other reports indicate nuclear research continued in secret into the 1980s.
Still, many believe Taiwan has quietly built a stockpile of tactical nuclear warheads that, if used, would give China serious pause and could help repel a People’s Liberation Army seaborne invasion. The late Sam Cohen, the father of the neutron bomb, told journalists that Taiwan had a stockpile of such weapons and that he had personally briefed the Taiwan military staff on their use. The neutron bomb, developed in the 1970s and 80s, is a controversial device that disperses massive amounts of radiation in a limited target area without the blast of a traditional weapon.