The US Navy yesterday sailed two warships, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS McCampbell and fleet replenishment oiler the USNS Walter S. Diehl, through the Taiwan Strait, official sources said.
The ships “conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit” which is “in accordance with international law,” US Pacific Fleet spokesman Lieutenant Commander Tim Gorman told CNN.
The US Navy had sailed warships through the Taiwan Strait in October and November last year, marking a notable increase in the frequency of such operations that were previously conducted about once a year, CNN said.
Photo: AP
The US Defense Intelligence Agency earlier this month issued a report saying that China has undertaken military reforms and obtained technologies because of “Beijing’s longstanding interest to eventually compel Taiwan’s reunification with the mainland and deter any attempt by Taiwan to declare independence,” according to CNN.
US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said he told Chinese officials during a meeting last month that US policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged, and that Washington is “opposed to any kind of unilateral action from either side of the Strait that would change that status quo.”
In other news, the Taiwanese navy yesterday showed off its latest long-range surveillance drone as the nation’s outgunned armed forces push to counter China’s increasingly muscular rhetoric and military exercises.
Photo: Sam Yeh/AFP
The military has hosted multiple drills since Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) major speech about Taiwan on Jan. 2, emphasizing what it says is a readiness to counter any invasion.
The navy showed off its new, long-range surveillance drone, the Rui Yuan (銳鳶, Sharp Hawk), which officials said can fly for 12 hours and is helping to monitor movements in the Taiwan Strait.
“The drones are now an irreplaceable part of our reconnaissance strategy,” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said.
“They are our primary option for activities in the Strait,” he said.
“The use of more locally made drones demonstrates Taiwan’s defense self-sufficiency and helps boost its reconnaissance capabilities,” said Wang Kao-cheng (王高成), a military analyst at Tamkang University.
The nation’s US-made F-16 and aging French-made Mirage jets are being increasingly called upon to respond to military movements from China, with some analysts warning that the fleet is getting worn down and lacking crucial spare parts.
Lin Ming-chang, an executive officer with the navy, said that drones were particularly cost-effective for surveillance.
“A pilot, when he flies, has to come back in two hours, but not the Rui Yuan drone. We can stay up in the air for up to 12 hours,” he said.
“In operating terms, both when it comes to fuel or machine parts, the drone can operate way longer than manned aircraft,” he added.
The navy yesterday also unveiled a hand-launched surveillance drone called “The Cardinal,” which it said can stay airborne for an hour.
In related news, the ministry yesterday said that it had observed and monitored the passage of People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) planes to and from aircraft exercises in the west Pacific.
According to the ministry’s report yesterday afternoon, PLAAF planes — including the Shaanxi KJ-500 early-warning aircraft and Xian H-6 bombers — took off from airbases in southern China and passed the Bashi Channel on their way to the west Pacific.
The ministry said the planes took the same route back.
The air force and navy were dispatched to monitor the Chinese planes and ensure that they did not stray into Taiwanese air space, the ministry said.
The report is the second time this week that it observed Chinese planes conducting exercises.
On Tuesday, it observed Y-8 transports and Su-30 jets flying to the west Pacific through the Bashi Channel before returning to air bases in southern China via the same route.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old