'China Starts More Military Drills in Response to Latest Congressional Delegation to Taiwan
The delegation asked Taiwanese lawmakers if they want the US to change its 'strategic ambiguity' policy
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) started fresh drills around Taiwan on Monday in response to a congressional delegation that visited the island.
Wu Qian, a spokesman for China’s Defense Ministry, said the military exercises were a “resolute counterstrike and solemn deterrence to the consecutive provocations by the US and Taiwan that undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it detected five PLA vessels in the area and 30 PLA aircraft, including 15 that crossed the median line that separates the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. China used to avoid crossing the median line, but since Pelosi visited Taiwan on August 2, PLA aircraft have regularly breached the unofficial barrier.
[...]
The policy of strategic ambiguity means that the US won’t say one way or the other if it would intervene in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan. But some hawks in Washington want that policy changed to guarantee a US response, known as strategic clarity, which would significantly raise tensions with Beijing. It’s not clear how the Taiwanese lawmakers responded to the congressional delegation’s questions about the issue.
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-Dave DeCamp
https://news.antiwar.com/2022/08/15...to-latest-congressional-delegation-to-taiwan/
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In a statement Tuesday the command
said it "launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test re-entry vehicle from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, Aug. 16 at 12:49 a.m. Pacific Time to demonstrate the readiness of U.S. nuclear forces and provide confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent."
At a moment tensions over Taiwan are still boiling, and after six months of the Russian war in Ukraine, the command stressed that "Such tests have occurred more than 300 times before, and
this test is not the result of current world events."
"The ICBM's reentry vehicle
traveled approximately 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands," according to details from the Air Force. "These test launches verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system, providing valuable data to ensure a continued safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent."
Emphasizing further that American rivals should not see this as a provocation in need of escalation, the command's Task Force commander Maj. Armand Wong said, "Our test launches are scheduled well in advance and are not reactionary to world events." He added: "A meticulous planning process for each launch begins six-months to a year prior to launch."
[...]'
https://www.zerohedge.com/military/...ke-capable-ballistic-missile-after-delay-over