Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- July 6, 2020

The guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson in formation with the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz during dual carrier operations with the Nimitz and Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Groups on June 23. Photo: US Navy

Lawrence Chung, SCMP: Operation Bashi Channel: the next flashpoint in the China-US military rivalry

* Both militaries have made their presence felt in the busy waterway south of Taiwan
* In the absence of direct communication, the PLA and the US are using missions in the area to send a message

On Friday, the United States made it 13.

For a 13th day in a row, the US sent military aircraft for reconnaissance in the Bashi Channel just south of Taiwan before heading to the South China Sea.

The People’s Liberation Army has also been busy in the area
Last month, dozens of PLA warplanes, including fighter jets and bombers approached the southwest side of Taiwan’s air defence identification zone and flew into the Bashi Channel towards the South China Sea.

It was yet another rattling of sabres by both sides in the busy waterway that skirts the island, turning the area into a flashpoint in a growing strategic rivalry.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- July 6, 2020











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