[Yang Nak-gyu's Defense Club] US-China Air Battle Over Taiwan Strait Now

On the 12th, the U.S. Air Force special operations aircraft MC-130J Commando II flew from north to south along the median line of the Taiwan Strait.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] The United States and China are engaged in a tense standoff in the waters near Taiwan. As Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force military aircraft cross the Taiwan Strait and fly through the waters near Taiwan into the Western Pacific region, U.S. fighter jets have been conducting daily response flights.

According to foreign media reports on the 15th, the first to conduct flights near Taiwan waters was the Chinese Air Force. Following January 23, on the 9th, China deployed multiple military aircraft including H-6K strategic bombers and J-11 fighters to conduct long-range flight training, flying through the waters near southern and northern Taiwan and back to the Western Pacific region. While China usually conducts "encirclement flight training" around Taiwan's airspace, the recent flights have been threatening.

At that time, Chinese military aircraft departed from mainland China, passed through the Bashi Channel south of Taiwan, entered the Western Pacific region, then returned via the Miyako Strait, flying through the northeastern waters of Taiwan. The Taiwan Strait connects the East China Sea and the South China Sea between China and Taiwan, measuring approximately 400 km in length and 150?200 km in width. The Bashi Channel is about 150 km wide, located between Taiwan and the Batan Islands of the Philippines, connecting the Pacific Ocean to the east and the South China Sea to the west. The Miyako Strait lies between Miyako Island and Okinawa Island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, linking the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. These are strategically important military locations.

In response to the appearance of Chinese military aircraft, the Taiwanese Air Force immediately scrambled F-16 fighters for counter flights. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense even released photos showing Taiwan's F-16 fighters pursuing a PLA H-6K strategic bomber.

The U.S. Air Force also began to join in. The direct involvement of the U.S. Air Force is seen as a full-fledged response to express support for Taiwan's independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen and to check China through a series of military demonstrations in the Taiwan Strait.

On the 12th, a U.S. Air Force special operations aircraft, the MC-130J Commando II (photo), flew from north to south along the median line of the Taiwan Strait. This was the first time this year that a U.S. special operations aircraft passed through the Taiwan Strait. The MC-130J previously passed through the Taiwan Strait at the end of August, late September, and early November last year. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense added that two U.S. Air Force B-52H strategic bombers also flew from north to south in the airspace east of Taiwan. The U.S. Navy also took action. A U.S. naval vessel that sailed near the Dongsha Islands (Pratas Islands), which are under Taiwan's effective control, has already arrived in the southern waters of Taiwan and is reported to have soon passed through the Taiwan Strait.

Military experts explained, "The two consecutive days of Chinese fighter flights around Taiwan on the 9th and 10th were not routine military training but politically motivated actions," adding, "The simultaneous appearance of U.S. military aircraft in the western Taiwan Strait and eastern airspace quickly demonstrated support for Taiwan."