‘And it is at Pratas Island where a behind-the-scenes tug-of-war is being played out between the U.S. and China.’

‘On Monday evening, as Chinese people were looking at their smartphones, watching their leader Xi Jinping talk about the importance of global cooperation at an online conference hosted by the World Economic Forum, alerts flashed across many screens.’

• ‘It was an analysis piece by Chinese media, mocking a U.S. State Department statement that urged China to "cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan." ’
• ‘The State Department statement, issued spokesperson Ned Price on Saturday U.S. time, had taken issue with 13 Chinese military aircraft entering Taiwan's air defense identification zone earlier that day.’

‘The U.S. needed to respond.’

• ‘If Washington had stayed silent, it could have sent the wrong signal, leading China to believe the Biden administration may be hesitant to take action even if China made military maneuvers against Taiwan.’

‘ "Pressure?" the analysis piece asked. "As everybody knows, the People's Liberation Army's combat-readiness flights in the airspace of the Taiwan Strait have become a norm." ’

• ‘China needs nobody's permission to decide what and when to fly, it said.’
• ‘The headline called the U.S. statement a "joke." ’

‘On Sunday, another 15 Chinese aircraft flew into Taiwan's air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, according to the island's Defense Ministry.’

‘What is noteworthy is that the Chinese military planes flew between the main island of Taiwan and Pratas Island southwest of it.’

• ‘The island, which sits in a strategic location in the South China Sea, is closer to Hong Kong than to the rest of Taiwan, though it is under Taiwan's control.’

‘China has deployed an aircraft carrier to its naval base on Hainan Island, farther to the west and facing the South China Sea.’

• ‘The shortest route from that base to the Pacific would take Chinese naval ships through the Bashi Channel, between Taiwan and the Philippines.’
• ‘On the way there, they would pass near Pratas Island.’

‘And it is at Pratas Island where a behind-the-scenes tug-of-war is being played out between the U.S. and China.’

• ‘One take on the military planes' latest incursions into Taiwan's ADIZ is that they were showing off China's ability to bomb the main island of Taiwan and cut off supply routes to Pratas.’
• ‘Another is that China may also have in mind a surprise attack and occupation of Pratas.’