The Washington Times is reporting that US intelligence agencies are on alert for unexpected Chinese military activities this weekend.
While there is no hint about the possible nature of such activities, they could be timed to coincide with the visit of White House National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon to Beijing.
According to the Washington Times, they could be part of the Chinese response to the US$5.8 billion arms package for Taiwan that was announced by the US last month.
Senior Washington-based US intelligence sources approached by the Taipei Times refused to discuss the issue, describing it as “too sensitive,” but they did not deny the report.
The sources said that Chinese military activity was “always a possibility,” but refused to speculate on what form it might take or just how likely it was.
As previously reported by the Taipei Times, the US is expecting to hear new protests about US arms sales to Taiwan during Donilon’s visit.
The Washington Times said that the administration of US President Barack Obama was “braced for a tough Chinese reaction.”
“The US intelligence community so far is unable to assess authoritatively just what China will do,” it said.
The newspaper said that so far Beijing has postponed the visit of Admiral Robert Willard, the commander of US forces in the Pacific, to China and blocked a visit by a US Army band.
“Recent comments by Chinese Gen. Luo Yuan [羅援], Beijing’s high-profile military hawk, has provided what defense officials say are hints of ominous things to come,” the Washington Times said.
“Intelligence analysts were left trying to discern Gen. Luo’s meaning and whether the comments signal that China’s military plans a high-profile response,” the newspaper added.
Without warning, China conducted its first test flight of a new J-20 stealth jet during US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ visit to Beijing in January.
“China in the past used missile tests to send political signals to its main superpower rival, so US intelligence agencies are on alert for any unexpected military activities during Donilon’s visit to China which begins this weekend,” the Washington Times said.
According to the newspaper, the US military is “ready for any provocation.”
A US Navy carrier strike group led by the USS George Washington is on patrol near the South China Sea and the assault ship USS Essex, with Marines on board, is in the Philippines Sea.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS