Editor TLN
The Taiwanese president and the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Republican McCarthy, met yesterday in Los Angeles. The Shandong is 200 nautical miles off the east coast of Taiwan; Washington’s man-of-war, 400 miles. The Chinese announced naval inspections along the Taiwan Strait; Taipei ordered its ships to repulse them.
Taipei () – China has sent the aircraft carrier Shandong off the eastern coast of Taiwan, where its American counterpart USS Nimitz is sailing. This is Beijing’s response so far to the meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy yesterday in Los Angeles.
Thus, there is no indication of a military blockade or missile launch, as occurred in August following the visit of Nancy Pelosi, McCarthy’s predecessor, to Taipei. At that time, the Chinese responded with a prolonged series of military exercises. The island is considered by communist China as a “rebel” province that must be reconquered even by force. For its part, the United States is committed to defending it under the Taiwan Relations Act, adopted in 1979 after Washington diplomatically recognized Beijing.
Tsai was passing through California. He was returning from an official trip to Guatemala and Belize, two of Taipei’s 13 remaining diplomatic allies. The President of Taiwan is not liked by the Chinese because they consider her a leader of independence. Before the McCarthy summit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry had threatened “resolute” action to defend China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Taiwanese authorities say they do not see an escalation by Beijing. For the Chinese, Tsai’s meeting with Pelosi was more serious because it took place in Taipei. Today Xi Jinping meets with French President Emmanuel Macron and with Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU Commission: a reaction like the one in August would create tensions with the European delegation.
Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng stated that Shandong lies 200 nautical miles east of the southern tip of the island, in the open Pacific Ocean; the Nimitz is 400 miles away. Chiu noted that two Taiwanese frigates are monitoring the transit of the Chinese aircraft carrier at a close distance of 5-6 nautical miles. The Japanese are also following the movements of the Chinese warship, which is accompanied by a frigate and a support unit.
Yesterday, the Chinese Armed Forces had announced a series of exercises and patrols in the Taiwan Strait. More than because of these operations, tensions between Taipei and Beijing are increasing due to the Chinese decision to initiate a series of maritime inspections along the entire arm of the sea, which would imply the inspection of Taiwanese vessels.
Taiwan’s government instructed its shipping operators to reject any verification request from China and, if necessary, to immediately contact the Taiwanese coast guard for help. Minister Chiu has made it clear that if patrol boats from Beijing cross the “middle line” that informally divides the Taiwan Strait, Taipei will react. This is yet another attempt by China to make concrete its claim that the waters in question are under its national sovereignty and not “international”.
