China yesterday accused the US of playing a dangerous game with its support for Taiwan, after a US warship passed through Taiwan Strait.
China has been angered by the administration of US President Donald Trump stepping up support for the nation, such as through more arms sales, US patrols near Taiwan and last month’s visit to Washington by former premier and vice president-elect William Lai (賴清德).
US Seventh Fleet spokesman Lieutenant Anthony Junco said the guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell conducted “a routine Taiwan Strait transit” on Wednesday, in line with international law.
“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said. “The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.”
The Ministry of National Defense said the ship sailed north through the waterway and was monitored by Taiwan’s armed forces, on what it called a “regular transit,” adding that there was no cause for alarm.
“The Republic of China armed forces fully monitors the movement of ships and aircraft around our airspace and waters. No irregularities have been noticed,” a statement from the ministry said.
Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesman Ren Guoqiang (任國強) yesterday denounced “continued negative actions” by the US on Taiwan, including sailings through and flights over the Strait.
“US moves have seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs, severely harmed peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and poisoned Sino-US military ties,” Ren told a monthly news conference.
The actions were “extremely dangerous,” he added.
On Feb. 9 and Feb. 10, Chinese H-6 bombers and escort aircraft flew south of Taiwan into the Western Pacific, briefly crossing the Taiwan Strait median line, prompting Taiwan’s military to scramble fighters to intercept and warn away the Chinese aircraft.
On Monday last week, China conducted a night flight training mission southwest of Taiwan, and briefly approached the nation’s air defense identification zone.
Taiwan has called the drills provocative, and urged China to pay more attention to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than menace it.
A chart posted on Twitter by Aircraft Spots, a military air movement tracker, showed a US Navy EP-3E aircraft operating in the South China Sea near Taiwan on Wednesday.
In January, another US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait less than a week after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) won re-election by a landslide on a platform of standing up to China.
Tsai on Tuesday visited a military base and again warned of the threat from China during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everyone knows that although at present there is an intense epidemic situation, the Chinese communists’ military aircraft continue to harass Taiwan,” she said. “Their threat to Taiwan and regional security has not gone down.”
Additional reporting by staff writer and CNA
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
The government yesterday donated US$200,000 to the Philippines to support post-earthquake relief and recovery efforts, following a powerful magnitude 6.9 quake that struck Cebu Province late last month, killing at least 72 people and injuring 559 others. The donation was presented earlier yesterday by Representative to the Philippines Wallace Chow (周民淦) to Cherbett Maralit, deputy resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, at Taiwan’s representative office in Manila. In his remarks, Chow expressed concern for those affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the central Philippines on the night of Sept. 30. "We sincerely hope for the earliest possible
RSS