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
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS