The passage of a US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft through the Taiwan Strait on Friday was aimed at countering China’s claims to the waterway and its “systematic expansion” in the region, local military experts said.
The flight of the maritime patrol reconnaissance plane was a response to China’s assertion that the Taiwan Strait is not international waters, Institute for National Defense and Security Research analyst Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said.
It was also aimed at countering the expansion of China’s military presence in the region, for example its aircraft incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) and warships sailing through waters claimed by China and other countries in the South China Sea, Su said.
Photo: AP
Chinese and Russian naval vessels were also navigating Japan’s territorial waters, he added.
The US aircraft’s transit came after 29 Chinese military planes entered Taiwan’s ADIZ on Tuesday, the third-highest single-day total this year, and after Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) told a news conference that the Taiwan Strait fell within China’s territorial waters.
The US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that the transit “demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” CNN reported on Friday.
“The United States will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows, including within the Taiwan Strait,” the statement read. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.”
The US’ rare move was apparently meant to counteract the harassment of Japan by Chinese and Russian ships, Institute for National Defense and Security Research analyst Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌) said.
The Ministry of National Defense said that it has a full grasp of China’s military activity and has contingency measures in place to safeguard national security.
People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command spokesman Colonel Shi Yi (施毅) criticized the US for “endangering the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait” by flying the aircraft and publicizing the move.
The Eastern Theater Command had organized air and ground forces to monitor the US aircraft’s entire operation, he said.
China has stepped up its military activities near Taiwan in the past few years in response to what it sees as closer ties between Washington and Taipei.
The Democratic Progressive Party has accused Beijing of continuing to use military, diplomatic and economic means to intimidate Taiwan and neighboring countries in the Indo-Pacific region, heightening regional tensions and making no efforts to break the deadlock between the two sides.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from