© AP
The United States will conduct military exercises in the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks, despite escalating tensions with China over the island. A senior US official said Friday that these are exercises in the air and at sea.
gjssource: BELGA
Kurt Campbell, the White House’s coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs and an adviser to President Joe Biden, said that despite the tensions, US forces “will continue to fly, sail and operate where international law permits, consistent with our long-term commitment to freedom of navigation.”
Earlier on Friday, thousands of soldiers from the United States, Indonesia and allies from the region conducted military exercises with live artillery. The exercises in Indonesia, known as Super Garuda Shield, were in response to China’s military exercises around Taiwan last week. They, in turn, came in response to the visit of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to the island. The United States described the Chinese exercises as “destabilizing” in the region.
“The destabilizing actions of the People’s Republic of China, in line with its threatening activities and actions against Taiwan, are exactly what we are trying to avoid,” said Admiral John Aquilino, who led the exercises as commander of US forces in India. Pacific.
