Sunday January 24th 2021
Incident in the South China Sea
New US government backs Taiwan
Several Chinese Air Force planes are said to have breached Taiwan's airspace. Washington condemns the incident and describes Beijing's behavior as worrying. At the same time, the US State Department pledges its support for the island nation.
The new US administration has pledged its support to Taiwan after the island nation reported an unusually significant airspace violation by Chinese military aircraft. China should stop its "military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan," demanded the US State Department. Instead of the campaign to "intimidate" its neighbors, Beijing should seek talks with the democratically elected government of Taiwan. China’s behavior towards Taiwan and other neighbors is worrying.
The US is rock solid by Taiwan and would continue to help the leadership in Taipei to have sufficient self-defense skills, it said. This contributes to peace and stability in the region, said the Foreign Ministry.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defense previously announced that eight Chinese H-6K bombers, four J-16 fighter jets and a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft entered the airspace defense zone on Saturday. The planes would have flown over waters near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea. Recently, Chinese jets were often on the move there, but there were usually only one or two reconnaissance aircraft.
The communist leadership in Beijing sees the now democratic Taiwan as a breakaway province of the People's Republic as a result of its one-China doctrine. The new US President Joe Biden has nominated Antony Blinken as Secretary of State. This has not yet been confirmed by the Senate – a step that should follow at the beginning of next week.
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