The United States will hold military exercises in the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks, despite growing tensions with China over the island. It concerns exercises in the air and at sea, a senior US official said on Friday.
Kurt Campbell, the White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs and an adviser to president Joe Biden, said that despite the tensions, U.S. forces “will continue to fly, sail and operate where international law allows, consistent with our longstanding commitment to freedom of navigation.”
Earlier Friday, thousands of soldiers from the US, Indonesia and allies from the region held a sharpshooter military exercise. The exercise in Indonesia, known as Super Garuda Shield, was in response to the military exercises China held around Taiwan last week. They were a response to the visit of the president of the US House, Nancy Pelosi, to the island. The U.S. called the Chinese exercises “destabilizing” for the region.
“The destabilizing actions of the people’s Republic of China, which fit with their threatening activities and actions against Taiwan, is exactly what we are trying to avoid,” said Admiral John Aquilino, who as head of US forces in the Indo-Pacific led the exercise.
About the author: Jeff Roper
Jeff Roper has been teaching journalism for more than five years. A theorist who nevertheless took up some practice. He is fond of the history of journalism and journalism.
