Water Wars: Philippines No Fool about Chinese Maritime Militia, While China Keeps Pressure on Taiwan
Testing Taiwan
On March 26, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported the incursion of 20 Chinese military aircraft in Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ). This is the largest incursion yet reported by the ministry. The Chinese aircraft included four nuclear-capable H-6K bombers, 10 J-16 fighter jets, two J-10 fighter jets, two Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft, and a KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft. In response, Taiwan’s air force scrambled jets and deployed missiles to “monitor” the intruding planes.
With Swarms of Ships, Beijing Tightens Its Grip on South China Sea
After building artificial islands, China is using large fleets of ostensibly civilian boats to press other countries’ vessels out of disputed waters.
A satellite photo of Whitsun Reef on March 23. At one point in March, 220 Chinese ships were reported to be anchored around the reef.Credit.Maxar Technologies
The Chinese ships settled in like unwanted guests who wouldn’t leave.
As the days passed, more appeared. They were simply fishing boats, China said, though they did not appear to be fishing. Dozens even lashed themselves together in neat rows, seeking shelter, it was claimed, from storms that never came.
Chinese structures don t matter, West Philippine Sea is ours, says Locsin
Published April 1, 2021 3:36pm Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Thursday said the presence of Chinese man-made structures at Pagkakaisa Banks don t matter as the area is part of the Philippines exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Within our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) so it’s ours. The durability and vintage of the structures don’t matter. Ours, the nation s top diplomat said on Twitter. Locsin was reacting to a social media user s tweet who asked if the Philippines will claim ownership of the island, which is part of the Kalayaan Islands Group (KIG), amid China s structures established there.
Beijing will stage naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea after it denounced the US for sending warships to the region.
The Chinese government gave official notice it would hold military drills in the northern part of the strategic waterway until Saturday, the state-backed
Global Times reports.
A notice released by China s Maritime Safety Administration said other vessels are prohibited from entering waters to the west of the Leizhou Peninsula in the South China Sea. It did not give further details of the exercises.
A file photo of a US Navy fighter taking off from the USS Theodore Roosevelt.(Getty)
Over the past year, China s navy expanded Yulin naval base on the island province of Hainan from a conventional submarine facility into a bay that berths nuclear submarines, military news database GlobalSecurity.org said.
Four trestles for submarines, each 229 metres long, can hold 16 submarines, it says. Aircraft carriers and remote-sensing equipment are also expected to be based at or near Yulin, the report said.
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The Yulin Naval Base on the Chinese island province of Hainan.(Nine) It s going to be kind of a future-oriented construction, said Alexander Huang, strategic studies professor at Taiwan s Tamkang University. It takes time. It looks like they have all the hardware, all the construction ready, and it s still going on.