[Epoch Times, June 29, 2022](Epoch Times reporter Li Yan comprehensive report) The U.S. military said on Tuesday (June 28) that a U.S. military plane flew over the Taiwan Strait last week in an attempt to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to freedom and openness. Indo-Pacific commitments. The CCP, which has continued to disturb Taiwan, said that it had sent its own planes to monitor and warn the U.S. military planes before they flew over.
Last Tuesday (June 21) and last Thursday (June 23), the CCP continued to dispatch dozens of military planes to disturb Taiwan.
“U.S. Navy ships and aircraft routinely interact with foreign warships and aircraft as they operate across the region,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement on Tuesday.
“All interactions with foreign forces during transit comply with international norms and do not affect operations,” the statement continued. “The United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, including in the Taiwan Strait.”
“The aircraft’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States‘ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the statement said.
China said it dispatched aircraft to monitor and warn when a U.S. P-8A anti-submarine aircraft flew over a sensitive waterway on Friday (June 24).
Since mid-2020, China has sent military planes into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone almost every day. However, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense stated that the CCP sent 29 and 22 military planes to enter Taiwan’s air defense identification zone last Tuesday and last Thursday respectively.
President Joe Biden’s administration is stepping up military cooperation with its Asian allies amid escalating Chinese harassment and a potential nuclear test threat from North Korea.
China has accused the United States of trying to create an “Asian version of NATO” through the Quartet Alliance (QUAD). The alliance includes the United States, Japan, India and Australia.
However, unlike NATO, the members of the four-nation alliance only agree to carry out economic cooperation and do not sign mutual defense pacts.
In recent years, U.S. warships have occasionally sailed through the Taiwan Strait with warships from allies such as the United Kingdom and Canada, much to the chagrin of the Chinese Communist Party.
On June 13, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it “has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait,” adding that “it is wrong for some countries to call the Taiwan Strait ‘international waters'”. Both the United States and Taiwan have refuted this, saying this is indeed international waters.
On June 17, the US called on the CCP to stop its “provocative behavior” and to “respect international law” in the adjacent South China Sea (South China Sea).
Both Taiwan and Southeast Asian nations claim partial sovereignty over the resource-rich waterway. Washington also believes the South China Sea should be opened up to international traffic.
The Voice of America reported that analysts believe that the CCP’s escalating harassment of Taiwan is to release information to the United States, not to threaten Taiwan itself.
Shu Xiaohuang, a scholar at the National Defense Security Research Institute, told the Central News Agency that it is rare for U.S. military aircraft to “cross” the Taiwan Strait. However, recently, Chinese and Russian warships have joined forces to harass Japan, and the US side has a strong countermeasure.
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#