The United States is defending its military movements near Taiwan, where China has sent personnel in a show of force intended to defend Beijing’s claims to sovereignty over the self-governing island backed by Washington.
Air Force senior colonel Zhang Chunhui, spokesman for the Chinese People’s Army Eastern Theater Command, announced Thursday that his troops have recently conducted combat exercises from the northern to the southern regions of the disputed Strait of Taiwan. He said these were “necessary actions to be taken in response to the current security situation” in the region, where the US military is considering its growing presence within the Pentagon’s goal of projecting power abroad .
“The United States is an Indo-Pacific nation and is committed to staying engaged with the region,” said Pacific Fleet spokesman Navy Lieutenant James Adams Newsweek.
“All U.S. Navy operations are designed to be conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows,” he added.
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But China sees foreign interference. “Recently, certain major forces have continued to make negative moves on issues with Taiwan, sending the wrong signals to the ‘Taiwan Independence’ troops and seriously threatening peace and stability in the Strait of Taiwan,” Zhang said in his statement. “Taiwan is a sacred and irreplaceable part of Chinese territory.”
He promised that his forces “will always maintain a high level of alert, take all necessary measures, resolutely oppose all provocative acts that create ‘Taiwan independence’ and divide the country and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Li Shilong / Chinese Liberation Army
In response to Zhang’s comments, the Taiwan Ministry of Defense announced Thursday that it “conducted joint activities, surveillance and reconnaissance activities to closely monitor the situation around the Taiwan Strait and the dynamics of the sea and airspace.”
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“The current situation is normal, please take care,” the statement said. “Cross-street stability is the cornerstone of regional peace. The national army will continue to build a solid, capable and determined national defense force to defend the country’s freedom, democracy and sovereignty and contribute to regional security and stability. . “
While Washington withdrew Taipei’s recognition in 1979 in favor of Beijing as China’s representative, so has much of the international community in the seven decades since a government-in-exile was established on the island following a communist victory on the mainland, the US remains Taiwan with political and military support. This has angered China and a series of recent actions has put the issue at the center of a widening, geopolitical dispute between Washington and Beijing.
The administration of President Donald Trump has taken a harsh stance against China, accusing it of unfair trade practices, theft of intellectual property, political repression and aggressive actions in the region, among other prosecutors.
Last month, Defense Secretary Mark Esper named the People’s Republic as the Pentagon’s top strategic competitor, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the international community to renew its ties with China, and on Monday Health Secretary Alex Azar visited Taiwan in a historic rebellion against longing American policy not to send former officials there.
J-10 and J-11 fighter jets of the People’s Liberation Army hit the “median line” of the Strait of Taiwan hours before the trip and Chinese military-bound media reported on anti-aircraft bubbles linked to American activity in the region. The South China Sea Probing Initiative, a think tank affiliated with the Peking University Institute of Ocean Research, has monitored U.S. air and sea areas such as the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group operating east of Taiwan.
In the latest report, the project said Wednesday that a U.S. Air Force RC-135 spy plane “just arrived at Kadena Air Base in Japan from Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska” after a long flight “potentially tied to” the upcoming PLA exercises. “A U.S. Navy P-8A was also spotted over the South China Sea, where ‘U.S. major reconnaissance aircraft have reduced their activities to typhoons.’
Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Jason Tarleton / USS Ronald Reagan / US Navy
The US has invested heavily in building a “free and open Indo-Pacific” coalition alongside Australia, India and Japan, and in strengthening ties with South China Sea countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam, as they challenge Chinese claims to the region. The Trump administration is now calling for more support in adopting Beijing on other points of controversy.
“There is the tragedy that befell Hong Kong and the premature denial of freedom to those people. You see it in distant places and their attempts to dominate the South China Sea. You see it in detention. “One million Uighur Muslims in Internet camps in Xinjiang. This is the human rights meat of the century, held by companies like Huawei, using technologies that secret police could only have dreamed of in times gone by.” Pompeo said Tuesday in comments at Wellenstein Palace in the Czech Republic.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian blasted the allegations at a news conference Thursday as “driven by the Cold War mentality and selfish gains.”
“Pompeo has voluntarily criticized the CPC and China’s domestic and foreign policies. China has repeatedly stated its solemn position on this,” he added. “It’s a waste of our time to resist Pompeo’s lies. Maybe some of you can do me a favor and ask if he can sleep peacefully at night after repeating shameless lies against China as a feverish day after day? “
