[ryan robertson]
TAIWAN SAYS CHINA JUST SENT ONE OF THE LARGEST DEPLOYMENTS OF NAVAL AND COAST GUARD SHIPS NEAR ITS WATERS IN RECENT MONTHS. AND GIVEN HOW MUCH ACTIVITY WE’VE SEEN IN THE AREA THIS YEAR–THAT’S SAYING SOMETHING.
NEARLY 90 NAVAL VESSELS WERE SPOTTED NEAR THE ISLAND. THE SHIPS ARE REPORTEDLY THERE TO RESERVE AIRSPACE NEAR THE ISLAND FOR UPCOMING WAR-GAMES, BUT THE MOVEMENTS ARE ALSO SPARKING FRESH CONCERNS ABOUT REGIONAL SECURITY AND MILITARY POSTURING.
IN TANDEM WITH THE NAVAL DEPLOYMENT — BEIJING RESERVED SEVEN AIRSPACE ZONES NEAR ITS FUJIAN AND ZHEJIANG PROVINCES, THE ZONES WILL REMAIN ACTIVE FOR A FEW DAYSTHOUGH CHINA HAS NOT ANNOUNCED SPECIFIC TESTS OR DRILLS.
TAIWAN CALLS THESE MOVES “UNILATERAL PROVOCATIONS” MEANT TO INTIMIDATE THE REGION. CHINESE AIRCRAFT AND BALLOONS WERESPOTTED OVER THE TAIWAN STRAIT. TAIWAN’S MILITARY INITIATED COMBAT READINESS EXERCISES AND IS MONITORING THE SITUATION CLOSELY.
CHINESE STATE MEDIA SUGGEST THE MANEUVERS FOLLOW THE TAIWANESE PRESIDENT’S TRIP TO GUAM AND HAWAII. BEIJING OPPOSES ANY OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN TAIWAN AND THE UNITED STATES, CALLING SUCH INTERACTIONS AN INFRINGEMENT ON ITS SOVEREIGNTY.
CHINA SEESTAIWAN AS A BREAKAWAY PROVINCE AND, CHINA’S XI XINPING INSTRUCTED HIS MILITARY TO BE READY TO TAKE TAIWAN BY 2027.
TAIPEI ACCUSES BEIJING OF USING “GREY-ZONE TACTICS,” LIKE FREQUENT MILITARY PATROLS, TO PRESSURE THE ISLAND WITHOUT ESCALATING TO DIRECT CONFLICT.
MEANWHILE U-S DEFENSE SECRETARY LLOYD AUSTIN SPOKE TO SAILORS ABOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON IN JAPAN ON MONDAY — THE NAVY’S ONLY FORWARD-DEPLOYED AIRCRAFT CARRIER.
AUSTIN DOWNPLAYED THE POSSIBILITY OF AN IMMINENT ATTACK ON TAIWAN BUT EMPHASIZED CHINA IS THE ONLY NATION WITH BOTH THE INTENT AND THE CAPABILITY TO CHALLENGE INTERNATIONAL RULES.
LLOYD AUSTIN
U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY
“There’s a lot of speculation about when Mr. Xi will decide to do one thing or another. I would just say from my vantage point at this point in time, I don’t think, you know, an attack is either imminent or unavoidable. So, again, our goal is to make sure that we continue to work with like-minded partners and allies to ensure that we maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific. And we’ve been pretty successful at that thus far.”
FOR MORE OF OUR UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACT REPORTING – DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP TODAY, OR LOG ON TO SAN.COM.