China's military declared it's "ready to fight" after wrapping up three days of combat drills simulating a blockade to "seal off" Taiwan.
The large-scale land and sea exercises follow last week's meeting by Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the United States.
China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and hasn't ruled out taking the self-governed island by force.
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said on Monday it tracked a record 91 Chinese fighter jets in the final day of the exercises, with dozens of warplanes crossing over the sensitive maritime median line of the Taiwan Strait.
The drills involved Su-30 and J-11 fighters, navy destroyers and missile speedboats, practicing to "encircle" Taiwan. China said it was simulating attacks on key targets, with the People's Liberation Army even releasing an animation of what hitting those targets would look like.
A voice recording obtained by ABC News captures the moment of a standoff between a Taiwanese ship and Chinese ship. The Taiwanese officers are heard telling the PLA Xuzhou: "Your actions have seriously undermined the region's peace, stability and security and deliberately provoked trouble, which have intensified security risk in the Taiwan Strait. Please leave immediately. If you insist on trespassing into our 24 nm contiguous zone, I will be forced to expel you."
China's Xuzhou responds, "The 24 nm contiguous zone doesn't exist. Taiwan is an integral part of China. Those pursuing Taiwan independence are the ones undermining peace and stability across the Strait."
China also claimed a U.S. Navy ship "illegally intruded" into waters it claims as its own, about 800 miles south of Taiwan. The USS Milius is a guided missile destroyer, it was carrying out a freedom of navigation patrol in the Spratly Islands, in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
The U.S. said it was monitoring China's actions and that it was "comfortable and confident" it has the resources and capabilities to ensure peace and stability in the region.
Former Taiwanese defence minister Andrew Yang told ABC News that he thought this month's drills were actually larger in scale, because of the use of China's Shandong aircraft carrier.
On the streets of Taipei, ABC News spoke to a range of Taiwanese who had mixed views towards the Chinese threat, but many of them said it was easier "not to think about" whether there could be an invasion.
Brian Pien, who works in IT recruitment, said, "They made it clear they're gonna do something. We don't know when that's going to happen, we just hope we're going to be safe."
Twenty-six-year-old Becky Chen said, "I feel ever since Nancy Pelosi visited us the tension has been more intense than ever."
J.C. Cheng, however, said the threat of China is something "us Taiwanese grow up with," but admitted it's something he does worry about.
US conducts naval mission in contested South China Sea amid Taiwan tensions
A US Navy destroyer sailed near one of the most important Chinese controlled islands in the South China Sea on Monday, in a freedom of navigation mission that Beijing denounced as illegal.
While the United States frequently makes such voyages to challenge China and other states' territorial claims in the strategic waterway, the latest one took place as Beijing staged more war games around Taiwan.
The US Navy's 7th Fleet said the USS Milius engaged in "normal operations" within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, once a reef submerged at high tide and where China has built an airport and other facilities.
"Under customary international law … features like Mischief Reef that are submerged at high tide in their naturally formed state are not entitled to a territorial sea," the 7th Fleet said in a statement.
China's People's Liberation Army said the US ship had "illegally" entered waters near the reef without Chinese approval, and its forces had monitored the vessel and warned it.
"China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and the surrounding maritime area," its Southern Theatre Command said.
Mischief Reef lies to the west of the Philippines' Palawan island.
The 7th Fleet said at the end of the operation the Milius exited the "excessive claim area" and continued operations in the South China Sea.
Last month, China and the US sparred over the movement of the USS Milius, which China said entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands.
China announced the three days of drills on Saturday, after Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taipei following a meeting in Los Angeles with US House of Representative Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The Eastern Theatre Command of the People's Liberation Army said the aircraft carrier the Shandong also took part in combat patrols, and showed fighters taking off from its deck.
Taiwan has been tracking the Shandong since last week in the Pacific Ocean.
Sam LaGrone, Dzirhan Mahadzir and Heather Mongilio
Both a U.S. and a Chinese carrier strike group are operating near Taiwan as political tensions continue to simmer following a Taiwanese presidential meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), USNI News has learned.
On Monday, the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group was operating in the vicinity of Taiwan in the Philippine Sea, according to the USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker.
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is also operating in the Philippine Sea following a series of exercises with Japanese and Koreans with Exercise Ssang 2023.
“We will not be deterred from operating safely and responsibly in the sea and skies of the Western Pacific consistent with international law, and in keeping with that the Nimitz carrier strike group and a Marine Amphibious Readiness Group continue to conduct routine operations in the Philippine Sea and will remain in the region,” Chris Meagher, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, told reporters Monday.
The Shandong Carrier Strike Group launched 80 J-15 Flying Shark fighter missions from Friday through Sunday from People’s Liberation Army Navy carrier CNS Shandong (17), according to Japanese officials. Shandong transited the Bashi Channel Wednesday and has since been operating off of Taiwan’s east coast, USNI News previously reported.
Two defense officials told USNI News on Monday there have been no reported unsafe interactions between U.S. and fighters from Shandong.
The Shandong CSG was part of Eastern Theatre Command’s Joint Sword drills, which began Saturday and ended on Monday. The drills launched after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a U.S. visit which included meeting McCarthy in California. Ground, naval and air elements of all three arms of the PLA simulated carrying out strikes and a blockade of Taiwan during the drills.
As of Monday, there were 12 PLAN warships and more than 90 aircraft operating in the vicinity of Taiwan, according to officials in Taipei.
Taiwan security officials tracked at least four J-15 missions that entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone over the weekend, a first for simulating attacks from the east of the island.
The fighters from Shandong had “carried out multiple waves of simulated strikes on important targets,” Chinese officials said in a Monday statement.
In addition to releasing the location and composition of the Shandong CSG from Friday through Sunday, the Joint Staff Office of Japan’s Ministry of Defense also said 80 fighter launches and recovery and 40 helicopter take-offs and landings were conducted by the CSG, according to a Monday statement. Japan Air Self Defense Force fighter aircraft were scrambled in response to the fighter launches. The release also stated that destroyers JS Sawagiri (DD-157) and JS Sazanami (DD-113) shadowed the PLAN CSG.
No comments:
Post a Comment