The Taiwan Ministry of Defense said 13 Chinese planes entered the southwest portion of the island’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Saturday, followed by 15 on Sunday, prompting Taipei to take defensive measures, including fighter jets for monitor Chinese flights.
Although the frequency of such exercises has increased in recent years, the timing and composition of the latest formations – mainly fighters and bombers – appeared to be intended to send a message to the new government in Washington.
Beijing claims total sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of nearly 24 million people located on the southeast coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed that Beijing will never allow the island to become independent and has refused to rule out the use of force if necessary.
“We urge Beijing to end its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected representatives,” said US State Department spokesman Ned Price, adding that US-Taiwan ties are deepening and Washington remains committed to the island’s self-government.
US carrier in the South China Sea
In addition to supporting Taiwan, State Department spokesman Price said on Saturday that Washington would also support other Indo-Pacific friends and allies, while China intensified its military activities in the region.
In a demonstration of this solidarity, an attack group of US Navy aircraft carriers entered the South China Sea over the weekend, the first deployment during the Biden administration of one of the 100,000 ton warships with its contingent of more than 60 aircraft.
A U.S. Navy statement said the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its guided missile cruiser and destroyer escorts were on a scheduled deployment to defend the freedom of the seas in the South China Sea of 1.3 million square miles, almost all of which China claims as its sovereign territory.
“With two-thirds of world trade traveling through this very important region, it is vital that we maintain our presence and continue to promote rule-based order,” Rear Admiral Doug Verissimo, commander of Carrier Strike Group Nine, said in a statement.
But in late 2020, China said military movements like that of the Roosevelt attack group had ignited tensions.
“Some countries outside the region come from afar to exercise their military muscles, initiate confrontations and create tensions in the South China Sea, which is the root reason for the ‘militarization’ of this region,” said a defense ministry spokesman. , Col. Tan Kefei said at a regular press conference.
Last year, the United States Navy sent two of its aircraft carriers, the largest warships in the world, to the South China Sea on two occasions for double exercises, something it had not done in the previous six years.
Washington also regularly conducts freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea, most recently in December. They involve US warships sailing within the limit of 12 nautical miles from the coast that nations can claim as their territorial waters.
China’s new coast guard law
On Friday, Beijing gave another indication of how it can tighten its grip on the waters it claims in the region, passing a new law that authorizes its coast guard to shoot foreign ships.
The law, which comes into force on February 1, also allows the coast guard to demolish foreign structures built on reefs and islands claimed by the Chinese and to establish exclusion zones to keep foreign ships out.
“The new coastguard law shows China’s clear attitude and determination to safeguard its sovereignty,” said the report, citing Lu Yaodong, a researcher at the state-run Chinese Academy of Japanese Studies Institute.
“Regular patrols near the Diaoyu Islands will be guaranteed by law,” said Lu.
Chinese ships spent record time in the waters around the islands last year, attracting Tokyo’s doom. Washington has repeatedly said that the islands are covered by the US-Japan mutual defense treaty, which would compel the United States to respond to any Chinese action against Japanese ships.