One Chinese think tank even says that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) may consider live firefighting off the US island of Guam.
Azar’s presence in Taipei is “a serious breach” of US commitments to Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Monday afternoon.
“We urge the US side to adhere to the one-China principle and to stop the provisions of three China-US joint communications, official interactions and contacts of all kinds, such as the upgrading of substantive relations with the island, and to deal with with Taiwan problems in a prudent and just manner, so as not to seriously damage the cooperation between China and US in large areas like peace and stability across the Strait of Taiwan, “said Zhao, according to the state-run news agency Xinhua.
Chinese war plans cross line
On Monday morning, China sent fighters across the median line in the Strait of Taiwan, saying Taiwan was warning its prisoners of war. The Chinese jets were also tracked down by Taiwan’s land-based anti-aircraft aircraft, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said.
“The PLA operation is seen as a strong response to the US movement, which broke a diplomatic bottom line of Sino-US relations,” the story said.
It goes on to say if Washington does not back down, more moves by the PLA may be needed.
“If the US goes further, the PLA could take more countermeasures, including live-fire missile sources east of the island of Taiwan and near Guam,” the story goes, citing Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser to China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.
Major Randy Ready, spokesman for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii, said the U.S. military “will not speculate on hypothetical exercises that may or may not take place in the future.”
Chinese military is drilling several drills
The mention of possible exercises from Guam, home of the major US military installations of Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Station Guam, comes after a busy few weeks for the PLA.
Recent drills include a ridiculous attack in Hainan province on the South China Sea; a sea crossing and landing with amphibious attack cars in Guangdong province; attacks on sea crossings in Fujian Province; and flights of missile-armed bombers and fighters across the South China Sea.
Those drills will be off Zhoushan, an island off the east coast of China south of Shanghai.
“The PLA drills are coming in the afternoon of the increasingly provocative military activities being carried out by the US near the island of Taiwan and in waters in the South China Sea,” the Global Times report said.
Clearly, the spokesman for the Indo-Pacific Command would not confirm Wang’s claim about the number of U.S. flights.
“There has been no significant change to our military operations in or around the South China Sea,” Ready said. “Although the frequency and scope of our operations vary based on the current operating environment, the US has a sustained military presence and operates routinely in the Indo-Pacific, including the waters and airspace around the South China Sea, precisely as we have for more than a century. “
Wang contradicts otherwise.
“The U.S. continues to increase and demonstrates its military presence in the South China Sea,” Wang said, citing part of a plan to ‘destabilize’ the 1.3 million-square-mile region, of which the most of China is regarded as its sovereign territory and where it has fortified manpower islands with military facilities and equipment.
Analyst: China is working on something
Military analyst Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the U.S. Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said it would not be surprising to see Chinese military exercises make a strong statement for both Washington and Taipei.
“It is clear from the increasing complexity of China’s maritime exercises that they are working on something,” Schuster said, adding that he expects an important exercise in the fall.
“They are likely to launch an air strike in eastern Taiwan. If Xi (Chinese President Xi Jinping) wants to send a threat, it could include a ballistic missile launch into the waters west of Guam,” Schuster said.
The fact that Guam’s ability appeared in a story on the PLA’s official English language website gives it credibility, he said.
“I’m sure the idea is on the table because the Chinese military would not publish such bombastic rhetoric on its own initiative,” he said. “Someone in authority in the Communist Party like PLA feels that way and insists.”
Despite all the rhetoric played out in the media, military leaders in Washington and Beijing have spoken out.
Last week, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, by telephone.
“Both leaders agreed on the importance of maintaining open channels of communication and developing the systems needed for crisis communication and risk reduction,” a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense said.
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