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.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
LONG-HELD POSITION: Washington has repeatedly and clearly reiterated its support for Taiwan and its long-term policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said that Taiwan should not be concerned about being used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing US-China trade talks. “I don’t think you’re going to see some trade deal where, if what people are worried about is, we’re going to get some trade deal or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio told reporters aboard his airplane traveling between Israel and Qatar en route to Asia. “No one is contemplating that,” Reuters quoted Rubio as saying. A US Treasury spokesman yesterday told reporters
RSS