What began earlier this month as a routine display of cross-strait harassment resulted in a record-breaking 149 Chinese warplanes transgressing into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the course of four consecutive days, sparking international alarm and outrage. The incursions, including one incident in which 56 aircraft entered the ADIZ in a single day, were derided by the White House as “destabilizing” and “provocative.” The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), meanwhile, said that the incursions were “necessary” to preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity over the island, which Beijing claims as its own. The events marked a new low in cross-strait relations. Experts, however, believe that the show of force is not a signal of imminent attack, but a complex display meant to simultaneously intimidate Taiwan, undermine the island’s international relationships, and solidify Xi Jinping’s standing within the Chinese Communist Party and its military, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Intimidation or …