The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and its escorts carried out maneuvers around Taiwan, the Chinese army said in a statement on Monday.
“It was a routine exercise organized according to the annual work plan to train the troops’ effectiveness and promote their ability to protect national sovereignty, security and development interests,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, at least 10 People’s Liberation Army warplanes, including four J-16s and four J-10 fighter jets, a Y-8 anti-submarine warship and an early warning KJ-500 aircraft, are entering Taiwan’s self-proclaimed anti-aircraft identification zone. (ADIZ), according to the Taiwan Ministry of Defense.
The US Federal Aviation Administration defines an ADIZ as “a designated area of airspace over land or water within which a country needs the immediate and positive identification, location and air traffic control of aircraft for the sake of the country’s national security.”
Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of nearly 24 million people located on the southeast coast of mainland China, even though the two parties have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised that Beijing will never allow the island to become formally independent, and has refused to rule out the use of force, if necessary, to take back the island.
Tensions over Taiwan have increased over the past few months as Taipei has gained US support in the form of new military hardware, an agreement between the US and Taiwanese coastguards and strong statements of support from the government of US President Joe Biden.
“We are committed to deepening ties with Taiwan,” U.S. Department of State spokesman Ned Price said last week.
“China is using coercion and aggression to systematically defend autonomy in Hong Kong, undermine democracy in Taiwan, abuse human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, and claim claims in the South China Sea that violate international law,” Blinken said.
“We will push back if necessary when China uses coercion or aggression to get its way.”
Beijing ” Warning ‘
Shi Hong, chief editor of the Chinese magazine Shipborne Weapons, showed his military superiority over Taiwan in China’s maneuvers on Monday.
“The exercise showed that the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) is able to surround the island of Taiwan, isolate its troops and leave them nowhere to run and have no chance of winning if circumstances arise, “Shi said.
The exercises also sent a message to the US and Japan, Shi added. Since any U.S. and Japanese military intervention would likely come from the east, China has shown that it could cut off aid by exercising its support group there, Shi said.
Western analysts said China did not show any new capabilities in the exercises Monday.
In fact, a Chinese Pacific Open Airline could play one of the strengths of the U.S. Navy – its nuclear-powered submarines (SSN), says Thomas Shugart, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and former U.S. Navy captain .
“A Chinese carrier operating east of Taiwan is not as valuable to use as that, as it can be very vulnerable to work that far – in SSN – contaminated deep water and outside China’s integrated air defense / SAM umbrella, said Shugart.
But the Chinese military has made a political statement, analysts said.
“This is intended as a warning to the Taiwanese and others who viewed Beijing as an interest, not the Americans,” said Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
Koh points out that a PLA Navy carrier group has operated east of Taiwan at least twice before.
Such Chinese activities are expected to continue. The PLA said in a statement that transport operations such as those offered on Monday would take place regularly.
US airline operates in South China Sea
While the Chinese carrier from Taiwan was conducting exercises, a US naval strike group was conducting its own operations in the South China Sea.
“It is wonderful to be back in the South China Sea to reassure our allies and partners that we remain committed to the freedom of the sea,” Doug Verissimo, Commander of Carrier Strike Group Nine, said in a statement.
“While the strike group in the South China Sea is conducting fixed and rotating flight operations, maritime strike drills, anti-submarine operations, coordinated tactical training, and more,” the 7th Navy statement read.
Beijing claims almost all of the 1.3 million square miles of South China Sea as its sovereign territory and has built up military strongholds on several islands in recent years.
The presence of foreign military forces such as the US Airship Strike Group is said to be fueling tensions in the region.