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China claims democratically controlled Taiwan as its own territory and has organized repeated air force missions to Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the past year, sparking anger in Taipei. China sent around 150 planes to the area over a four-day period from October 1 in a further escalation of tensions between Beijing and Taipei that raised concerns internationally. Republican strategist John Ullyot said the forays were also aimed at testing whether Joe Biden and his team will step in to defend Taiwan.
Speaking to EWTN, Mr Ullyot said: “It is quite clear that China feels a weakness on the part of the Biden administration, so it is ready to test Taiwan and how serious we are about protection. of Taiwan, if necessary militarily.
“The Chinese Communist Party army sent planes to the air defense identification area, which is not actually over Taiwan but nearby.
“They have doubled the number of flights they normally did two weeks ago.
“They are really stepping up their tests of Taiwan’s military response to their air raids and they are sending a signal that they are very belligerent.
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“They’re testing Taiwan, but they’re also sending a signal to Biden and his team that they don’t take our willingness to defend Taiwan as seriously as they did under President Trump and previous administrations.
“It’s a real challenge.”
The U.S. Army said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey crossed the narrow waterway separating Taiwan from its giant neighbor China with the Canadian frigate HMCS Winnipeg on Thursday and Friday.
“The transit of Dewey and Winnipeg through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the commitment of the United States and our allies and partners to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he added.
US Navy ships pass through the strait about once a month, much to Beijing’s dismay, which accuses Washington of fueling regional tensions. US allies also occasionally send ships across the Strait, including Britain last month.
As tensions across the Taiwan Strait increased, there was no gunfire and Chinese planes did not enter Taiwanese airspace, concentrating their activity in the southwestern part of ADIZ. .
While including Taiwanese territorial airspace, ADIZ encompasses a larger area that Taiwan monitors and patrols which acts to give it more time to respond to any threats.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that three Chinese planes – two J-16 fighters and an anti-submarine plane – had once again overflown the ADIZ.
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