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Taiwanese jet and Chinese bomber (archive image from February 2020)
Photo: AP
It was not until the end of January that there was another incident.
At that time, the Foreign Ministry in Taipei announced that 15 Chinese planes had penetrated the southwest of the Taiwanese zone.
Twelve of the machines were fighter planes.
The Chinese planes flew through the airspace between the southern end of Taiwan and the Taiwan-controlled Dongsha Islands, it said.
The conflict between Taiwan and the People's Republic, which Taiwan regards as part of their territory, has been simmering for a long time.
Now the senior US military in the Asia-Pacific region has issued a clear warning.
"I fear that China will increase its ambitions to take over the leadership role of the US in the international order," said Admiral Philip Davidson a committee of the US Senate on Tuesday (local time).
The British Guardian reports on it.
In his view, Taiwan could soon play a key role in this.
“Taiwan is clearly one of their targets even before then.
I think this threat could become very real in this decade.
Probably even in the next six years, ”Davidson continues.
Most recently, the State Department in Washington asked the Chinese government not to intimidate the neighboring country any further.
It was explicitly about the aircraft in the controversial airspace.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China
The US is firmly committed to Taiwan and would continue to support the leadership in Taipei with sufficient self-defense, the statement from Washington said.
The US government asked China to end its "military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan."
This contributes to peace and stability in the region, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The communist leadership in Beijing sees democratic Taiwan as part of the People's Republic as a result of its one-China doctrine.
Since China has brought Hong Kong under its control with a state security law, Taiwan has felt more threatened than ever before.
China's apparent disregard for international conventions in Hong Kong no longer makes an invasion of Taiwan seem unthinkable.
Guam could also become a possible destination in the medium term
In addition to the risks for Taiwan, Davidson also addressed a possible threat to Guam, the US territory in Micronesia.
The strategically extremely important US air force base at Andersen Air Force Base is located there.
"Guam is already a target today," the admiral said to the committee.
He recalled a video by the Chinese military that had been made public in September 2020.
It simulates attacks on a base that is strongly reminiscent of Guam.
In the event of a military incident in the region, Andersen Air Base would play an important role in a possible US response.
Admiral Davidson combined his remarks with a request to the Senate to approve the installation of a new missile defense system on Guam.
This would send the signal to those responsible in China that "the price of their plans would be high".
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