McCarthy revealed “Meeting in LA on the 5th”… Republicans and China hardliners also attended
China “meeting is a provocation” military aircraft and warships… US Criticizes China’s Reconnaissance Balloons for Collecting US Military Intelligence
Philippines reveals location of 4 US bases
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is on tour to Guatemala and Belize in Central and South America, decided to meet House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, third in power in the United States, in Los Angeles, California, the United States on the 5th after returning home. Taiwan’s Presidential Office emphasized that “interacting with a democratic country is the right of 23 million Taiwanese people.”
China strongly protested. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said on the 4th, “We will be judged by history,” and “we firmly oppose the meeting between the two.” China’s military threat is also escalating, with military aircraft from the People’s Liberation Army entering the “middle line,” the de facto border with Taiwan, on the 3rd. China threatened Taiwan by conducting military drills to blockade Taiwan when then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August of last year.
The US then criticized the Chinese reconnaissance balloons that invaded US airspace in January and February of this year for collecting sensitive information from US military bases. The Philippines, which is adjacent to Taiwan, also revealed the locations of four US military bases to be built within the country, and it is expected that the US-China conflict over Taiwan and the South China Sea will intensify in sympathy with the US.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.According to Reuters on the 3rd, Chairman McCarthy, who is a member of the opposition Republican Party, said, “Chairman McCarthy will meet with President Tsai at the Ronald Reagan Library in Los Angeles on the 5th.” Rep. Roger Wicker, Republican secretary of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Mike Gallagher, chairman of the Special Committee on US-China Strategic Competition, and other popular hardliners within the Republican Party are also likely to attend.
Former President Reagan, who came to power in the 1980s, advocated a strong United States and a leading nation in democracy, and at the time confronted communist countries such as the former Soviet Union and China. California is Chairman McCarthy’s constituency.
President Tsai, who started her Latin American tour on the 29th of last month, passed through New York when departing. On the 30th of the same month, he met with House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries of the ruling Democratic Party, whose constituency is New York. On this tour, he is meeting both House representatives from the Democratic and Republican parties.
The Global Times, a Chinese state-run English-language newspaper, argued on the 4th that “the meeting between Tsai and McCarthy is a ‘provocation'” and that “all measures taken by the People’s Liberation Army against the provocation are justified.” He expressed dissatisfaction that the White House is raising uncertainty in the US-China relationship, saying that the contact between the two sides is being conducted with the White House’s connivance.
Among them, on the 4th, according to the Taiwanese Ziyu (自由) Times, 20 People’s Liberation Army military aircraft and 3 warships were spotted near Taiwan the day before. Of these, nine military aircraft crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait. China also sent military aircraft and warships to the Taiwan Strait on the 2nd.
The US is taking issue with China’s reconnaissance balloons. On the 3rd, NBC reported that Chinese reconnaissance balloons that flew over Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana in January and February collected sensitive military information there and transmitted it to China in real time. Three former and incumbent senior U.S. officials criticized China for intentionally collecting information, saying, “The reconnaissance balloon, which was remotely controlled by the Chinese side at the time, circled in the shape of an eight and circled over the base several times.” About 150 U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are known to be stored at the Malmstrom base.
The Philippine government also announced on the same day that US military bases will be built at Camilo Oasis Naval Base and Lalo International Airport in Cagayan Province, Luzon Island, Melcho de la Cruz Army Base in Northern Isabela Province, and Balabac Island in Palawan Islands. Luzon is close to southern Taiwan, and Palawan is close to the Spratly Islands (Chinese name Nansha Islands) claimed by China. In other words, it made it clear that it would build a military base here to keep China in check. Philippine Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez expressed his willingness to join the US in containing the public, saying, “I will fulfill my responsibility in the South China Sea.”
Beijing =
Washington =
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.