China time 22:20 Thursday, July 28, 2022
Pelosi's planned visit to Taiwan triggers escalation of US-China confrontation, and USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group returns to patrol in South China Sea
The USS Ronald Reagan came at a time when US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's planned visit to Taiwan prompted a stern warning from Beijing and the US military was preparing to provide comprehensive protection for her should she travel. A battle group led by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan has returned to disputed waters in the South China Sea after a visit to Singapore on Tuesday (July 26) to enforce what the US military calls "normal" freedom of support. Routine tasks of sailing.
Reuters reported that a U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet official confirmed that the USS Ronald Reagan had returned to waters in the South China Sea, but did not answer questions about the escalation of U.S.-China tensions over Pelosi's planned visit to Taiwan.
"The USS Ronald Reagan and her strike group are on a mission in the South China Sea following a successful visit to the port of Singapore," Seventh Fleet spokeswoman Hayley Sims said in a statement to Reuters.
Sims also said in the statement that the USS Reagan "continues to carry out normal operations according to the established schedule as part of her routine patrols in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian accused the United States of using the USS Ronald Reagan to "show muscles" in the South China Sea when asked at a regular news briefing on Thursday.
"Everyone can see clearly who is the biggest threat to the South China Sea and Asia," Zhao Lijian said.
The whereabouts of the USS Ronald Reagan, whose home port is in Yokosuka, Japan, has drawn special attention because of the strong dissatisfaction from Beijing and a series of stern warnings and threats due to the planned visit of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan next month.
Pelosi originally planned to visit Taiwan in April this year, but because of the positive nucleic acid test before the trip, the visit was postponed. Beijing has shown unusually strong opposition to Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. Spokespersons for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense in Beijing have repeatedly stated that they will take necessary countermeasures and countermeasures against Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, "will not sit idly by", and that all consequences will be borne by the United States.
Although Chinese officials have not stated what the so-called countermeasures and countermeasures are, Chinese social media is full of speculations and discussions that Chinese military planes escorted Pelosi's landline and even entered Taiwan with her.
Pelosi herself declined to answer questions about whether she would still visit Taiwan, citing international travel concerns. But U.S. President Joe Biden last week quoted the U.S. military as saying: "It's not a good idea to visit Taiwan right now."
In the US political arena, there are strong voices against Beijing's interference in US leaders' trips, and strong opposition to Beijing's threats and intimidation of Taiwan. Pelosi's insistence on visiting Taiwan may detonate a diplomatic war or even a hot war between the United States and China; but if she cancels the visit plan in the face of Beijing's warning, she will appear to be too soft on China, and it will be serious politically in the United States. lose point.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that he has spoken directly with Pelosi and has given her a security assessment, but that any information about her visit to Taiwan must be released by her office.
President Biden is expected to have his fifth phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping as early as Thursday, and the Taiwan issue is seen as one of the main topics discussed by the two.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been separated and ruled separately from each other. But the Beijing authorities have always emphasized their sovereignty over Taiwan and the need to achieve reunification across the Taiwan Strait even by force. In recent years, with the rise of China's economic and military strength, the PLA's threats and intimidation against Taiwan have become stronger and stronger. It has also become common practice for PLA warships to intrude on the sea and airspace around Taiwan.
At the same time, Chinese military aircraft are increasingly intercepting foreign military aircraft operating in international airspace and behaving in increasingly dangerous ways. Foreign militaries, including the Canadian and Australian Air Forces, have recently accused Chinese military aircraft of unprofessional and even dangerous actions and behavior during interception operations.
The Associated Press previously quoted U.S. officials as saying that if Pelosi finally decides to visit Taiwan, the U.S. military will increase its mobilization of its military strength and military assets in the Indo-Pacific region to protect her safety. The officials declined to give details, but said that U.S. warplanes, warships, reconnaissance ships, and other military installations were used to monitor Pelosi during her flight to Taiwan and during her stay in Taiwan after her arrival. Layer crossing protection.
The USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group, which began patrolling and training in the South China Sea earlier this month, began anchoring, visiting and resting at the port of Singapore last weekend for five days. According to a Bloomberg report, after the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier battle group returns to the South China Sea, its carrier-based fixed-wing and rotary-wing fighters will conduct take-off and landing flights, sea strikes, and sea-air coordinated combat training.
Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Yusof Isaac Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, was quoted by Reuters as saying that the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group returned to South China in light of recent precedent and tensions between the United States and China After the sea, they will be followed and monitored by Chinese ships.
"Most of the time, these types of interactions are safe and professional, but there's always a risk that the two sides will get too close and cause confrontation," Storey said.
U.S. officials on Tuesday accused China of increasing "provocative behavior" against other claimants in the disputed waters, and said "strong and irresponsible behavior" meant it was only a matter of time before something major or unexpected happened.
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