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China sent 18 planes to the Taiwan area during a senior U.S. visit
Keith Crack is the most senior official in the State Department to come to the Democratic Island in the last 40 years.
Beijing, which sees Taiwan as a rebel province, has stepped up military exercises in the region in light of the strengthening of relations between Taipei and Washington: "The conspiracy will lead them to a dead end."
Pompeo: "Idle threats"
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Friday, 18 September 2020, 20:44
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In the video: US Secretary of Health visits Taiwan (Photo: Reuters)
The Chinese military has sent 18 aircraft, including fighter jets, to the Straits of Taiwan, in a demonstration of exceptional force in the wake of a visit by a senior U.S. official to the island.
Deputy Foreign Minister Keith Krak, who holds the State Department's economic growth, energy and environment portfolio, met with Taiwan's finance minister and deputy prime minister.
He met with businessmen and was scheduled to have dinner with President Tsai Ing-wen.
In response, the supervision of the eastern arena of the Chinese army launched an exercise that included naval and air units in the Straits of Taiwan, for the second time this month.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said fighter jets were launched after 18 Chinese planes infiltrated the air defense detection area and these followed their trajectory.
China's Defense Ministry said the exercises were a "legitimate and necessary" response to a situation in the region, designed to "ensure national sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The ministry said the United States and the ruling party in Taiwan had recently stepped up "conspiracy" between them and "making trouble", and those, they warned, would "lead them to a dead end."
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To the full article
The official reason for the visit - the funeral of the former president.
Keith Crack on landing yesterday (Photo: Reuters)
China's Defense Ministry said the exercises were a "legitimate and necessary" response to a situation in the region, designed to "ensure national sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The ministry said the United States and the ruling party in Taiwan had recently stepped up "conspiracy" between them and "making trouble", and those, they warned, "would lead them to a dead end."
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing sent a similar message, saying that China has the ability to "thwart any foreign intervention and separatist actions by the independent forces in Taiwan."
China sees the democratic island as part of its territory, and opposes any form of official communication between other countries and the Taiwanese government.
Crack, the most senior official in the State Department to come to the island in the last 40 years, came to visit about a month after Health Minister Alex Azar visited.
He was the most senior American figure to come to the island since the beginning of official relations between the United States and China in 1979.
The Trump administration has strengthened relations with Taiwan in a series of steps, including increased arms sales and support for the island's participation in international forums.
On Wednesday, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft had lunch with Taiwan's most senior representative in New York, in a meeting she called "historic." 97 in July. Apparently, this is his official reason for visiting.
China Air Force H-6 bomber during the exercise, today (Photo: AP)
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated in recent months ahead of the US election in November, and the two powers are clashing over the plague of the corona, trade, technology, Hong Kong and the South China Sea.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is leading the Trump administration's rhetorical attack on China, accused her of "idle threats."
He said, "We sent a delegation to the funeral, and China responded with idle military threats. I will leave it at that," he said at a news conference.
Experts say China's military response is a clear message to the United States, after it took similar action when the US Secretary of Health visited the island last month, but despite the growing frequency of Chinese exercises, it does not mean a war between the parties is about to break out.
The current crisis is reminiscent of that of 1995-1996, when China launched missiles off the island and conducted war exercises to intimidate voters in Taiwan's first democratic elections.
However, these threats are seen as returning to Beijing as a boomerang.
Taiwan has said recent moves, which it has described as "serious provocations" by the Chinese military, threaten the stability and peace of the region and called on the international community to respond.
The flight paths of Chinese aircraft
China has stepped up Taiwan's military threats and diplomatic isolation, after failing to persuade the island's 23 million people in a political union under the Hong Kong "one country, two systems" framework.
Most Taiwanese prefer to maintain their country's de facto independence, especially in light of recent developments in Hong Kong, since the passage of China's national security law.
Beijing has severed ties with the Taiwanese government since Tsai won the 2016 election.
Earlier this year she won a second term by a large majority, and her party holds a majority in parliament.
Taiwan's presidency today called on China to exercise restraint, sending reassuring messages to citizens.
In recent weeks, senior Taipei officials, including the president, have expressed concern that a casual military incident could ignite a wider conflict.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defense has shown a map of the flight paths of the 18 Chinese planes that crossed the Taiwan Strait distribution line, where fighter jets do not normally pass on either side.
Chinese fighter jets briefly crossed the distribution line last month as well, during a visit by the US Secretary of Health.
The Taiwanese newspaper Liberty Times reported that Taiwanese fighter jets took off 17 times in four hours, warning Chinese planes to stay away.
In addition, a picture of a missile loading on an F-16 at an air base off the island's east coast was released.
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