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.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS