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Russia, China kick off joint military drills in Sea of Japan
Thursday, 20 July 2023 9:52 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 20 July 2023 10:46 AM ]
The file photo by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a Pacific Fleet boat firing a Moskit cruise missile in the Sea of Japan during military exercises. (Photo via AFP)
China and Russia have begun joint naval and air drills in the Sea of Japan aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two countries’ navies and maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the four-day joint exercises, dubbed “Northern/Interaction-2023”, will be held from July 20-23 as scheduled, “in accordance with the international military cooperation plan.”
The statement said the two countries’ naval forces will practice conducting joint anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and naval combat maneuvers.
They will carry out sea and air convoys of ships, protect and defend groups of ships when moored in an unprotected estuary, and ensure the security of communications in the waters and airspace of the Sea of Japan, it added.
According to the ministry, joint artillery firing is also planned during the Russian-Chinese drill.
China, Russia to kick off joint air, naval drill in Sea of Japan
The Russian Navy, it went on, will be represented during the drills by several vessels from the Pacific Fleet, including the ASW destroyers Admiral Tributs and Admiral Panteleyev, and the corvettes Aldar Tsydenzhapov and Gremychy, as well as auxiliary ships.
More than 30 aircraft, including bombers, are reportedly taking part from the two sides. Observers say the joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan are apparently aimed at keeping the United States and Japan in check.
The latest drills come as the two countries have pledged to deepen military cooperation.
China and Russia have agreed to expand trade, energy and political relations amid the West’s increasingly adversarial approach over the war in Ukraine.
Washington has become more vigilant about the relations between Beijing and Moscow ever since Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a “no limits” partnership in February 2022.
China has blamed the United States and NATO for “provoking” Moscow over the Ukraine war and has condemned Western sanctions against Russia.
Russia has also strongly backed China amid the recent tensions between Beijing and Washington over the US political and military interference in Taiwan.
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China slams Taiwan presidential hopeful’s planned ‘sneaky visit’ to US, vows ‘forceful’ reaction
Tuesday, 18 July 2023 9:01 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 18 July 2023 10:03 AM ]
Taiwanese Vice President William Lai will stop over in the US on his way to Paraguay for the swearing-in of President-elect Santiago Pena next month. (Photo via Reuters)
China has reacted angrily to a “sneaky visit” to the United States next month by Taiwan’s “separatist” top presidential candidate, vowing “forceful measures” in response to protect its territorial integrity.
“China firmly opposes any form of official exchanges between the United States and Chinese Taipei, resolutely opposes sneaky visits by Taiwan independence separatists in any name or for any reason, and resolutely opposes any form of connivance by the United States to support Taiwan independence separatists,” said Beijing’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning during her daily press briefing on Monday.
Mao further underline that the Chinese government will take “resolute and forceful measures” in order to “protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” noting that Beijing had already filed a diplomatic complaint with Washington concerning the upcoming visit by Taipei’s vice-president and presidential hopeful William Lai.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, however, insisted during a press briefing on Monday that Lai’s transit visit to the United States – prior to traveling to Paraguay to attend a presidential inauguration event in the Latin American country — was “routine” and consistent with past practice, given that 10 Taiwanese vice presidents, including Lai himself, have traveled via the US.
“There is no reason for the PRC to use this transit as a pretext for provocative actions,” Blinken further claimed, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
This is while a State Department spokesperson announced that Washington was also expecting Taipei’s other presidential candidate of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Party, Hou Yu-ih, to visit sometime in the early fall.
Speaking to reporters, Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yui declined to offer details on Lai’s US transit visits, saying they would come later.
This upcoming US visit by Lai, however, has extra significance as he is running to succeed the self-ruled island’s standing President Tsai Ing-wen at the territory’s next election in January.
Taiwan’s presidential office said Lai would arrive in Paraguay on August 14, the day before Santiago Pena is due to be sworn in as the country’s next president.
Taiwanese presidential candidates generally visit the US ahead of their election to discuss their plans with officials in Washington.
Such transit visits enrage Beijing, which regards them as covert support by the US for the island territory claimed by China and a challenge to the mainland’s territorial sovereignty.
In April, China waged massive military drills around Taiwan after Tsai met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles while on her way back from Central America in a move widely viewed as a deliberate bid intended to undermine Beijing.
China stages combat patrols over Taiwan Strait amid Tsai’s US visit: Report
China has sovereignty over the Chinese Taipei, and under the “One China” policy, almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty. According to the principle, Chinese Taipei is subject to Chinese sovereignty and Beijing is the sole representative of all China.
China prohibits its own diplomatic partners from having formal ties with Taipei and now Taiwan has legal diplomatic relations with only 13 countries, mostly small US client states in Central America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.
The Chinese government strongly opposes other countries pursuing official and diplomatic ties with the Chinese Taipei and has consistently warned the US and other states against engaging with the self-proclaimed government in Taipei.
Washington has no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei by law, but remains the island’s largest weapons supplier and an avid backer of Taiwan’s secessionist President Tsai Ing-wen, generating increasing tensions with Beijing over trade and a host of other issues.
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