Chairman for life Xi Jinping however has
repeatedly asserted his intention to
bring the island under beijing's rule by
any means necessary. So when the u.s navy sent a transport
aircraft down the west coast of the
democratically governed island this week
beijing took insult. It responded by sending a flight of
russian-designed Su-30 flanker
interdiction fighters into taiwanese
airspace. The u.s warplane's rare flight over
taiwan showed the increasing
collaboration between the u.s military
and taiwan secessionists and the chinese
mainland's fighter jet sorties and
approaches sent them a powerful warning
and demonstrated how much the PLA was determined
and prepared for war, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mouthpiece the global times
declared the following day.
Taiwan's ministry of defense says the
chinese fighters were given verbal
warnings before its own u.s built F-16
viper fighters drove away the intruders. the trigger for the confrontation was
the presence of a us navy C-408 clipper
transport aircraft, a militarized version
of the commercial boeing 737 passenger
jet. It had flown an approved though unusual
flight path over taiwan's airspace on
its way to southeast asia from the
significant u.s base at Okinawa, the flight was always going to upset Beijing. The PLA's fighter jet sorties
and approaches to taiwan is likely a
counter to the provocative move by the
u.s military aircraft.
CCP military
spokesman Song Zhangping told the Global Times
this can also be seen as a de facto
joint military drill, indicating the u.s
could lend taiwan support in a war and
give taiwan secessionists courage to
fight the mainland. song said the chinese incursion was
deliberate. This time they flew to the
southwestern airspace of the island
which showed the determination and
capability of the PLA and this will
become more frequent and routine. That the u.s navy flight was an overt
signal of support for taiwan is likely. Especially given china's recent major
military exercises close to its borders.
the new aircraft carrier shandong has
been testing its weapon systems to the
southeast of the island in what
international observers say has been a
clear signal to taipei. taiwan has repeatedly complained in
recent months that china has been
stepping up military activity in its
vicinity. it sees this as a deliberate attempt to
menace the newly elected democratic
government of president tsai ing wen. beijing insists such exercises are
nothing unusual and that they are
happening in its own territory anyway, but there is no denying china is
rattling sabers in its relationship with
taipei.
Last month senior People's Liberation Army (PLA) spokesman Wu Chien told a CCP assembly that taiwan is an inalienable
part of china and that the taiwan
question is china's internal affair and
china will not accept any foreign
interference. The PLA has the firm will full
confidence and enough capability to
thwart any kind of secessionist attempt
by foreign forces and will take any
necessary measures to safeguard national
sovereignty and territorial integrity
and maintain peace and stability across
the taiwan straits.
He said the united states has stepped up its
naval presence in the vicinity of taiwan
and the south china sea in recent months. It sent a destroyer the uss russell
through the taiwan straits last thursday. This was the seventh transit of the
disputed waterway so far this year. Washington has adopted an increasingly
overt attitude to the international
status of the east and south china seas
as well as the taiwan strait, it insists it has no opinion over who
owns what islands or reefs. Only that
this be negotiated and administered
under the united nations laws of the sea.
Specifically that means the freedom of
navigation of commercial and military
vessels through international waters. The u.s ambassador to the UN has this
week upped the ante. He rejected beijing's assertion that it
has the right to expel malaysian
resource exploration ships from the
south china sea. The united states rejects these maritime
claims as inconsistent with
international law as reflected in the
1982 law of the sea convention.
Ambassador Kelly Kraft wrote in a
diplomatic submission
malaysia is seeking approval from the UN to expand the definition of its
continental shelf in its favor. Beijing is continuing to ignore a 2016
ruling by the international permanent
court of arbitration which rejected its
claims to the entire south china sea as
unfounded.
