The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) lawfully dealt with a transit by US and Canadian warships in the Taiwan Straits on Wednesday. This comes at a time when the US has deployed two aircraft carriers near China in its attempt to maintain hegemony amid global security tensions, experts said on Thursday.
Senior Colonel Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said in a press release on Thursday that the USS Rafael Peralta destroyer and the HMCS Ottawa frigate on Wednesday made a transit through the Taiwan Straits, an event that the US has hyped.
The PLA Eastern Theater Command organized naval and aviation forces on high alert to track and monitor the US and Canadian vessels through their entire course and handled them in accordance with the law and regulations, Shi said.
“The command troops maintain high vigilance at all times and will resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security as well as peace and stability in the region,” the spokesperson said.
Calling the transit “provocative,” Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times on Thursday that the PLA can effectively monitor and control the Taiwan Straits and is capable of dealing with any emergencies at any time.
Observers said that the US and Canadian warships transiting the Taiwan Straits came at a time when the US is deploying two aircraft carriers near China, with the USS Ronald Reagan reportedly wrapping up a visit to the Philippines amid tensions with China over islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and the USS Carl Vinson scheduled to hold a multilateral exercise in waters off Japan next week.
These US’ attempts to maintain its hegemony now seem exhausting amid current global security tensions, including the Palestine-Israel conflict and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Wei said, noting that the US military is spreading out its aircraft carriers and other military assets throughout the globe under high pressure to show off its presence.
Fanning flames everywhere is dragging the US into huge trouble, and the US’ muscle-flexing is only making the world a less peaceful and more turbulent place, Wei said.
The Shandong aircraft carrier strike group of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has reportedly been holding a far sea exercise since October 26 in waters to the east of the island of Taiwan, where the PLA can surround the “Taiwan independence” forces from the east and deny external military interference attempts, experts said.
China has the capability to warn off and counter the military provocations by the US, Wei said.
(Global Times)
