Published:
Oct 3, 2022 14:57 GMT
Washington considers that Beijing is trying to establish a “new normal” with its military activities around the island.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he does not expect an imminent Chinese invasion of Taiwan, but believes Beijing is trying to establish a “new normal” with its military activities around the island.
“I don’t see an invasion imminent,” Austin said in a interview with broadcast last Sunday. “We saw a number of crossings of the center line of the Taiwan Strait by their aircraft, and that number has increased over time. We have seen more activity with their surface ships in and around Taiwan’s waters,” he added.
Likewise, Austin affirmed that Washington will continue to work with its allies “to ensure that we maintain a free and open Pacific,” adding that the US is trying to reopen military communication channels with China.
The interview aired a day after Austin denounce Beijing’s “bullying behavior” in the region: “We are deeply concerned about China’s increasingly aggressive and bullying behavior in the Taiwan Strait and elsewhere in the region,” he told reporters last Saturday in Honolulu ( Hawaii), where he met his counterparts from Japan and Australia.
China stepped up military exercises around Taiwan and cut military and climate ties with the US after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei in August. Chinese officials condemned the visit, saying it undermined Beijing’s sovereignty over the island and emboldened Taiwanese separatists.
