United States Navy Aircraft is Caught Flying Over Taiwan Strait
Jose Nino
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On July 13, 2023, a United States Navy spy plane flew over the Taiwan Strait as China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was carrying out drills to the south of Taiwan.
The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet announced the sortie of the Navy P-8A Poseidon. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the plane flew on the south side of the median line, an informal barrier that divides the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Chinese authorities revealed that they tracked the US aircraft and accused the US of bringing undue attention to the incident. “The troops of the PLA Eastern Theater Command have tracked and monitored the US aircraft in the whole course, and handled it in line with laws and regulations,” stated a spokesperson for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command.
As Dave DeCamp of Antiwar.com noted, the “US frequently sails warships through the Taiwan Strait, which China views as provocations.” Espionage flights have generally been less common but are gradually increasing with frequency. The last known US espionage flight over the Taiwan Strait occurred in April.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry claimed PLA vessels and planes carried out a third day of drills on July 13. On top of that, the ministry said it discovered Chinese aircraft crossing the median line, a barrier the PLA previously avoided but currently crosses on multiple occasions.
The PLA started to regularly cross the median line after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid a visit to Taiwan in August 2022. Her visit prompted China to carry out its largest military exercises around the island. Since then, the PLA has maintained pressure as the US and Taiwan continue increasing military and diplomatic ties.
The merchants of death are using the “pivot to Asia” to justify a conflict with China that will line their pockets. Taiwan is one of the numerous flashpoints where the US could butt heads with China.
In an ideal world, Taiwan would be an independent, sovereign nation. However, the world of geopolitics is anything but ideal. The mainland China regime treats Taiwan as a rogue province that will sooner or later be reunified with the mainland. Any concrete efforts to fully militarize it with outside forces or have it declare independence would likely provoke a massive military intervention from China.
The US needs to rethink its policy with respect to China and instead try to confront it along more nationalist lines by emphasizing more nationalist reforms in areas of trade protectionism and immigration restrictionism.
The current approach to China will undeniably lead to a geopolitical cataclysm of colossal proportions. This can be avoided by simply using realism and restraint in foreign affairs.
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