A US military reconnaissance plane was yesterday morning spotted flying near Taiwan’s southern airspace, marking the 12th time in the past three weeks that US military aircraft have been detected near Taiwan.
A US RC-135W Rivet Joint flew over the South China Sea, according to a flight chart posted to Twitter by the military air movement tracker Aircraft Spots.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) did not directly confirm the sighting, except to say that Taiwan’s armed forces are closely monitoring the nation’s surrounding waters and airspace.
US military aircraft have been spotted in the skies around Taiwan 12 times since March 25. Chinese military aircraft have been spotted at least six times since Jan. 23, according to publicly available information from Aircraft Spots and the Ministry of National Defense.
Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy spokesman Gao Xiucheng (高秀成) on Monday confirmed media reports that the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and several escort ships on Saturday passed through the Miyako Strait and waters east of Taiwan, en route to the South China Sea for annual training exercises.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), an analyst at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, on Sunday said that China has expanded its maritime and air presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
“This is probably the main reason US reconnaissance planes have recently been spotted operating near the Bashi Channel — to monitor the movements of the People’s Liberation Army in the area,” Su said.
Taiwanese analysts have also said that the US and China are likely using the military movements to signal their continued commitment to the region, despite the challenges they have had in containing the COVID-19 pandemic.
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
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
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
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS