The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions.
The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.”
In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft — which flew in a north-south direction — was making the transit, and observed nothing unusual.
Photo: Reuters
Although the 160km-wide Strait that divides China from Taiwan is international waters, China considers the passage of foreign military aircraft and ships through it a challenge to its sovereignty.
China scrambled fighter jets to “monitor the US plane’s passage” and operated “in accordance of laws and regulations,” Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command spokesman Colonel Li Xi (李熹) said in a report on social media. “Theater troops are on high alert at all times to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability.”
China routinely issues stern protests and activates defenses in response to the passage of ships and military planes through the Strait, particularly those from the US.
China also regularly sends navy ships and warplanes into the Strait and other areas around Taiwan to wear down its defenses and seek to intimidate its 24 million people.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Tuesday spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun (董軍), in the latest effort by Washington to improve communications with the Chinese military and reduce the chances of a clash in the region.
It was the first time Austin has talked to Dong and the first time he has spoken at length with any Chinese counterpart since November 2022.
The call, which lasted a bit longer than an hour, came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China this month for talks.
Military-to-military contact stalled in August 2022, when Beijing suspended all such communication after then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
China responded by firing missiles over Taiwan and staging military maneuvers, including what appeared to be a rehearsal of a naval and aerial blockade of the nation.
Additional reporting by CNA
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
RSS