The Chinese navy has the ability to blockade Taiwan, but doing so could prompt a coordinated response by the international community to intervene to resolve the crisis for Taiwan, US Vice Admiral Karl Thomas said.
“Clearly if they do something that’s non-kinetic, which, you know, a blockade is less kinetic ... then that allows the international community to weigh in and to work together on how we’re going to solve that challenge,” the commander of the US Navy’s 7th Fleet told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Monday.
While he could not predict whether China would launch a full-scale attack on Taiwan or blockade the nation, it was his job to be ready for all eventualities, he said.
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Following a visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei on Aug. 2 and 3, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched live-fire military exercises in six maritime zones around Taiwan, firing 11 ballistic missiles into waters surrounding the nation.
The “irresponsible” act showed that China was pushing the boundaries further to “see what they can get away with,” Thomas said.
Following the exercises, China has made dozens of incursions near Taiwan during which PLA aircraft or ships crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which had served as a tacit boundary before last month’s military exercises.
China’s latest actions are an extension of its “might makes right” mentality, Thomas said.
Asked why the plane carrying Pelosi avoided the South China Sea and followed a circuitous path to Taiwan, Thomas said that it was done to avoid provoking China, which has militarized artificial islands in the region.
The decision was made “at high levels” amid warnings from Beijing that a visit by Pelosi could have consequences, he added.
China, which has the world’s largest navy by size, is building warships at a faster rate than the US, although the US Navy, with more advanced warships and a larger aircraft carrier fleet, still has a qualitative edge, Thomas said.
The PLA has also been addressing a lack of coordination between its different branches, which had been seen as weaknesses, he said, adding that aircraft from China’s air force now fly above bodies of water, while in 2018 only aircraft from its navy conducted such flights.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
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