US reaffirms support for Taiwan after China sends warplanes

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that China sent eight bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons and four fighter jets to its air defense identification zone just southwest of the island on Saturday. The ministry said China sent another 16 military planes of different types to the same area on Sunday.

The ministry said Taiwan responded by jamming fighters, broadcasting warnings by radio and “deploying air defense missile systems to monitor activity.”

There was no immediate Chinese comment on Sunday.

The overflights were part of a long-standing pattern of forays to pressure President Tsai Ing-wen’s government to give in to Beijing’s demand to recognize Taiwan as part of Chinese territory.

They come on the heels of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, highlighting the island’s enduring position in the panoply of divisive issues between the parties that also include human rights, trade disputes and, more recently, questions about China’s initial response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden’s administration has shown little sign of easing pressure on China on these issues, although it is seen to favor a return to more civil dialogue.

The State Department statement said on Saturday that Washington would continue to deepen ties with Taiwan and ensure its defense against Chinese threats, while supporting peaceful resolution of issues between the parties.

In another sign of support for Taiwan, the island’s de facto ambassador to Washington, Hsiao Bi-khim, was a guest at Biden’s inauguration.

And in a final swipe at China, the outgoing Trump administration ambassador to the UN tweeted that it is time for the world to oppose China’s efforts to exclude and isolate Taiwan, sparking heated debate. Beijing reviews.

Ambassador Kelly Craft accompanied the tweet with a photo of herself in the United Nations General Assembly Hall where the island is banned. She was carrying a purse with a teddy bear protruding from the top, a gift from Taiwan’s representative in New York, Ambassador James Lee.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, and China says it is determined to bring the island under its control by force if necessary. The United States changed diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but it is legally obligated to ensure that Taiwan can defend itself and that the autonomous democratic island has strong bipartisan support in Washington.

Tsai sought to bolster the island’s defenses by purchasing billions of dollars in U.S. weapons, including upgraded F-16 fighter jets, armed drones, rocket systems, and Harpoon missiles capable of hitting both. ships and land targets. It also stepped up support for Taiwan’s indigenous arms industry, including launching a program to build new submarines to counter China’s ever-growing naval capabilities.

China’s heightened threats come as economic and political incentives bear little fruit, leading it to stage war games and send fighter jets and reconnaissance planes almost daily to the island of 24 million. inhabitants.