Taiwan accused Beijing of bullying and damaging regional peace Saturday after Chinese fighter jets and bombers made their largest ever incursion into the island’s air defence zone. China has been bellicose and damaging regional peace while engaging in many bullying acts,” Premier Su Tseng-chang told reporters Saturday. The previous single-day record was on June 15 when 28 jets breached Taiwan’s ADIZ.
Xi has described Taiwan becoming part of the mainland as “inevitable”. US military officials have begun to talk openly about fears that China could consider the previously unthinkable and invade.
Protection of Taiwan has become a rare bipartisan issue in Washington and a growing number of Western nations have begun joining the United States in “freedom of navigation” exercises to push back on China’s claims to the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
Britain sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait on Monday for the first time since 2008. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command accused Britain of acting out of “evil intentions to sabotage peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.
Alexander Huang, associate professor at Tamkang University in Taipei said he believed the latest aerial incursion was not just about sending a message to Taiwan. There’s three other carrier attack groups in the region, two American and one British,” he told AFP.
“China is sending a political message to the US and UK on her national day: Don’t mess around in my area.” Canadian, French and Australian warships have all made voyages through the Taiwan Strait in recent years, sparking protests from China.
Source: eNCA
In other news – Boity Thulo opens assault case against Bujy Bikwa
MEDIA personality Boitumelo “Boity” Thulo has opened a case of assault against former Metro FM presenter Bujy Bikwa.
This after their conversation about spiritual calling ended in a heated argument that led to Bujy throwing a bottle across the room, which hit Boity on the face. Learn more
