In an alarming tit-for-tat June 9, Taiwan’s defense ministry said that several Chinese fighter jets briefly entered the country’s air defense identification zone, and the US took the unusual move of flying a C-40A military transport plane over Taiwan. The US overflight was assailed by Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office as “an illegal act and a seriously provocative incident.” This comes as the US is deploying two aircraft carrier strike groups to the Pacific—the San Diego-based USS Nimitz and the Yokosuka-based USS Ronald Reagan. These join the USS Theodore Roosevelt, also based in San Diego but now patrolling the Philippine Sea near Guam. This marks the first time in three years that three US strike gorups have been simultaneously deployed to the Pacific, in what is being seen as an explicit warning to China. The triple deployment follows accusations by Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of US forces in Japan, that China is using the coronavirus crisis as a cover to push territorial claims in the South China Sea. “Through the course of the COVID crisis we saw a surge of maritime activity,” Schneider told Reuters. (The Hill, The Hill, USNI News, Reuters, AP)
New Cold War getting scarier
So US Secretary of State Pompeo, having just sanctioned Chinese companies involved in Uighur forced labor, makes an openly Cold War-nostalgist speech, calling “totalitarian” China a threat to “free democracies around the world,” and nearly broaching the verboten phrase “regime change.” He quotes Nixon from 1967 saying, “The world cannot be safe until China changes. Thus, our aim…should be to induce change.” But Pompeo goes on to add that “engagement…has not brought the kind of change inside of China that President Nixon had hoped to induce.”
And this comes just as China has ordered the US to close its consulate in Chengdu in retaliation for the Trump admin ordering China to close its consulate in Houston, on rather vague charges of spying. (Bloomberg)
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu meanwhile warns that China has conducted an “unprecedented” number of sea and air drills around the island nation in 2020, with the pace rising to nearly once every day since June. “The threat is on the rise,” he said.
He also speculated that this could be related to China’s domestic woes—a steep economic slowdown and COVID-19: “A country will often use an exterior crisis to change the domestic focus. If we look at the contested issues around China’s periphery, we see that for China, Taiwan would be an extremely convenient sacrificial lamb.” (WaPo)
And Trump, of course, may similarly want a crisis with China to lubcricate the November election. So Trump and Xi are actually cooperating—even if it is a very dangerous game.
And what’s really maddening about it… The “leftists” are going to rally around the PRC, which really is totalitarian. Chinese dissidents, Hong Kong protesters, Uighurs and Tibetans are going to rally around Pompeo and Trump. Once again: a global divide-and-conquer scam is the essence of the state system
Taiwan sends marines to contested islands
Taiwan’s military has sent a marine company to reinforce the garrison on a small outpost in the South China Sea amid reports that the People’s Liberation Army was planning a simulated attack on the islets. A military source said the navy had sent a company of around 200 marines to reinforce the coastguards stationed on the Pratas Islands, which are known as the Dongsha Islands in Chinese. (SCMP)
China tests Biden over Taiwan
China sent warplanes into the Taiwan Strait over the weekend, in a clear show of force to the new Biden administration.
Taiwan’s military said that four Chinese fighter jets, eight bombers and one anti-submarine aircraft entered its southwestern air defense identification zone and crossed the midline that divides the Taiwan Strait on Jan. 23. That was followed by 12 fighters, two anti-submarine aircraft and a reconnaissance plane on the 24th.
Taiwan’s military said it sent radio warnings to the Chinese planes, put defense missile systems on alert and dispatched patrol aircraft to monitor them. (NYT)
China: Taiwan independence ‘means war’
China has warned Taiwan that any attempt to seek independence “means war.” A Defence Ministry spokesman said: “The military activities carried out by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in the Taiwan Strait are necessary actions to address the current security situation in the Taiwan Strait and to safeguard national sovereignty and security, They are a solemn response to external interference and provocations by ‘Taiwan independence’ forces… We warn those ‘Taiwan independence’ elements: those who play with fire will burn themselves, and ‘Taiwan independence’ means war.”
The warning comes days after China stepped up its military activities and flew warplanes near the island. It also comes after new US President Joe Biden reaffirmed his commitment to Taiwan, and set out his stance in Asia. The US called China’s latest warning “unfortunate.” (BBC News, Reuters)
Biden sends warship into Taiwan Strait
The US Navy sent a guided-missile destroyer, the Japan-based USS John S McCain, through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 4, the first time a US warship has gone through the waterway that separates China and Taiwan during the Biden administration.
The last transit occurred on New Year’s Eve when the McCain and a second destroyer, the USS Curtis Wilbur, went through the strait. US warships transited the waterway 13 times in 2020, according to the US 7th Fleet, the most since 12 such transits in 2016, the final year of President Obama’s administration. (CNN)
Blinken dresses down China
Antony Blinken, the new US secretary of state, boasted of reprimanding China’s top foreign policy official after his first official telephone call with him. “I made clear the US will defend our national interests, stand up for our democratic values, and hold Beijing accountable for its abuses of the international system,” Blinken tweeted.
Blinken spoke with Yang Jiechi, former minister of foreign affairs, but now director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, an organ of the party rather than the state. In his own account of the call, Yang said he called for “no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation” when speaking of bilateral ties. “Let’s each manage our own business,” Yang reportedly told Blinken. (FT, CGTN)
Taiwan Strait escalation continues
Twenty Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan’s air defence zone on March 26, marking its biggest incursion. It came one day after the US and Taiwan agreed to boost co-operation between their coast guards.
The rising alarm in the Biden administration matches a warning from Adm. Philip Davidson, head of US Indo-Pacific command, who told senators China could take military action “in the next six years.”
Adm. John Aquilino, who is scheduled to succeed Davidson, this week told Congress that there was a wide range of forecasts but “my opinion is this problem is much closer to us than most think.” (FT)
Taiwan: ‘Record number’ of China jets enter air zone
Taiwan has said a record number of Chinese military jets flew into its air defence zone on April 12. The defense ministry said 25 aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers entered its so-called air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
The latest incident came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was concerned about China’s “increasingly aggressive actions” towards Taiwan.
In an interview with NBC he stressed the US legal commitment to Taiwan and said Washington would “make sure Taiwan has the ability to defend itself,” adding that it would be a “serious mistake for anyone to try to change the status quo by force.” (BBC News)
Record number of China jets enter Taiwan air zone —again
An unprecedented 56 Chinese warplanes crossed into Taiwan’s air defense zone Oct. 4, prompting a warning from the US State Department to Beijing to halt “provocative military activities.” In an editorial in response to the warning, China’s Global Times said that pressure from the West has resulted in a “sense of urgency” and that “the war may be triggered at any time.”
Propaganda re. PRC’s Taiwan ADIZ incursions
An annoying pro-PRC Facebook meme accurately shows Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) as overlapping with China’s ADIZ and extending into air over the mainland (parts of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces)—but inaccurately depicts the PLA warplanes as over this mainland territory, while a weeping caricature representing Taiwan says “NO! Your [sic] Crossing Into My Airspace!” First, the ADIZ does not correspond to Taiwan’s sovereign “airspace.” But, more to the point—that’s not where the PLA warplanes were. Their actual flight paths are shown in this tweet from Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense—they are well outside the PRC’s ADIZ, and over the South China Sea. Don’t be fooled.
US military advisors in Taiwan: report
US troops have been deployed to Taiwan for at least the last year to train local military forces to bolster the island’s defenses amid increasing tensions with mainland China, The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 14. Some two dozen US Special Operations advisors and a small contingent of Marines are deployed in Taiwan, according to the newspaper, which cited unnamed U.S. officials. The special operators have worked with Taiwanese ground troops and the Marines have worked with maritime forces on small-boat operations, according to the Journal. (Stars & Stripes)
Chinese, Russian warships pass through Japanese straits
Chinese and Russian naval vessels passed together through the Osumi Strait between the main southern island of Kyushu and the offshore Tanegashima Island on Oct. 23, marking a first. After transiting the strait, the warships entered the East China Sea, according to the ministry. With the passage, the flotilla of 10 vessels completed a nearly full circle around the Japanese archipelago. On Oct. 18, the flotilla passed through the Tsugaru Strait, located between Japan’s main island of Honshu and Hokkaido to the north, also marking the first such move. (Kyodo, Kyodo)
China-Philippines clash in East China Sea
Three Chinese coastguard ships blocked and fired water cannons on two Philippine supply boats in the South China Sea. Manila’s Foreign Ministry said the incident took place near Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) on Nov. 16 and the Philippine vessels, which were taking food supplies to military personnel stationed nearby, were forced to abandon the mission. No injuries were reported. Ayungin Shoal is part of the disputed Spratly Islands, known as the Kalayaan Islands in the Philippines. (Al Jazeera)
US aircraft carriers conduct drills in South China Sea
Two US Navy carrier strike groups are currently conducting drills in the South China Sea amid the latest show of force of Chinese aircraft into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone on Sunday. The Carl Vinson CSG and Abraham Lincoln CSG began dual-carrier operations on Jan. 23, the same day Taiwan said the People’s Liberation Army Air Force flew 39 planes in Taiwan’s ADIZ. (USNI News)
China accused of hostile attack on Philippine vessel
Philippines officials accused a Chinese Coast Guard ship on March 23 of hitting a Philippine supply boat with water cannons in disputed waters of the South China Sea, causing heavy damage to the vessel and injuring several crew members. (Jurist)
US Coast Guard hunting rogue Chinese vessels in Pacific Ocean
China has the world’s largest fishing fleet, much of it is owned by the government in Beijing. They’ve been accused by many countries of illegal fishing and depleting stocks. The US Coast Guard has recently started to board Chinese fishing vessels in remote Pacific waters—thousands of miles from the U-S mainland—looking for evidence of illegal fishing. This is part of a US Coast Guard operation to confront China on the high seas. (PRI)
US militarizing Philippine islets near Taiwan
This week, the US and the Philippines will conduct one of their largest-ever military exercises on the tiny islands called the Batanes. The islands belong to the Philippines but are just 100 miles from Taiwan. The US military is looking to build a permanent seaport there that could serve as a base for warships. (PRI)
Manila summons China diplomat over new maritime confrontation
The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs on May 2 summoned China’s deputy chief of mission in Manila, Zhou Zhyiong, after China’s Coast Guard reportedly obstructed and attacked with water cannons Philippine vessels that were on a “humanitarian mission” to assist a fishing fleet in Scarborough Shoal (also rendered Panatag Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc) two days earlier. (Jurist)
Philippines deploys ships to disputed South China Sea shoal
The Philippines on May 11 deployed Coast Guard ships to a disputed area in the South China Sea, where it accused the People’s Republic of China of building an “artificial island” within Escoda Shoal. The office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a statement that Chinese forces are destroying the coral reefs in Philippine waters. (Jurist)
Manila challenges China to open Scarborough shoal
The Philippines challenged China on May 20 to allow international scrutiny of the disputed Scarborough Shoal. The call was made during a press conference by representatives of the National Security Council and Philippines Coast Guard. They accused China of destroying the marine environment around the shoal, including coral reefs. (Jurist)
Manila protests China’s fishing ban in South China Sea
The Philippines formally protested China’s imposition of a unilateral, four-month fishing ban in the South China Sea, Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release on May 27. The ban has been imposed annually since 1999 and is expected to last until September. (Jurist)
Vietnam increases outposts in disputed Spratly Islands
Vietnam has significantly expanded its outposts in the contested Spratly Islands during the past six months according to a report released June 7 by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI).
AMTI, a Washington-based think tank at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, found that Vietnam has created “almost as much new land” in the islands over the past six months as it had in the previous two years combined. (Jurist)