A US Lockheed P-3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft yesterday flew over the Bashi Channel toward the South China Sea, marking the 12th time this month that a US military aircraft was spotted to the south of Taiwan’s airspace.
The airplane’s presence was reported by military aviation monitoring Web site Aircraft Spots.
The same aircraft on Saturday last week flew in a similar southwesterly direction over the channel, the Web site said.
The US has used Boeing RC-135U and RC-135W, as well as Lockheed EP-3E and P-3C reconnaissance aircraft, in its flybys this month.
RC-135U aircraft were sighted on April 8 and 10, while EP-3E aircraft were sighted on April 11 and 12.
An RC-135W was sighted on Monday last week along with a P-3C Orion, while another P-3C Orion was spotted on Tuesday last week.
RC-135W aircraft were sighted on Wednesday and Friday last week, a P-3C on Saturday last week and an EP-3E on Tuesday.
Yesterday’s flyby followed the passage of the Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday.
The Barry had transited the Strait on April 10, also from the north to south, according to the Ministry of National Defense and the US Seventh Fleet.
The ministry also said that it had been monitoring the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning, which on Wednesday transited eastward through the Bashi Strait to the south of Taiwan after conducting training exercises in the South China Sea.
Separately on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reasserted Taiwan’s sovereignty over South China Sea islands and called on neighboring countries to exercise restraint, as China boosts its administrative and military establishment in the disputed area.
China on Saturday last week announced the establishment of Xisha and Nansha districts as part of Sansha City, Hainan Province.
The two districts would exercise jurisdiction over the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), the Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands, 中沙群島), the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) and their surrounding waters, the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs said.
The Chinese ministry the next day released guidelines over standard nomenclature and coordinates of 25 islets and reefs, as well as 55 undersea geographical features in the South China Sea.
Vietnam on Monday protested China’s establishment of the districts, while reaffirming its own sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos.
The foreign ministry in a news release on Friday expressed its concern over some countries’ unilateral and arbitrary claims over the area, as well as related actions.
It is beyond dispute that Taiwan is entitled to all rights over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters in accordance with international law and the law of the sea, it said.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS