US warship sails to Taiwan strait as China's PLA ups air power ahead of Pelosi's visit

Ahead of the looming fear that Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) would attack the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's aircraft when she flies to the self-administered Taiwan, US military on July 26 sailed its only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan towards Taiwan strait. USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) departed Changi Naval Base, Singapore after concluding a port visit with cruiser USS Antietam (CG-54).

US mobilised an aircraft carrier, a guided missile destroyer, and a guided missile cruiser in the direction of an unknown location, and ship-tracking information published by Beijing-based think tank South China Sea Strategic Probing Initiative revealed that the US-flagged aircraft carrier was headed towards the sensitive and contentious hotspot, the Taiwan strait. 

US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Credit: Associated Press

A 'dangerous provocation' 

As the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi planned to make a visit, yet to be officially confirmed to self-administered island nation Taiwan, China's People's Liberation Army shot warnings labelling Pelosi's high-level visit as a "dangerous provocation." Ronald Reagan Strike Group that operates under the US 7th Fleet area of operations quietly sailed to an unidentified destination in the northeast, and it was later tracked that it was sailing in the direction of Taiwanese waters.

Should it continue sailing in the bound route, the US striker group will reach the Taiwan strait where the PLA Air Force's fighter jets make routine aerial incursions. Satellite images show increased PLA military activities at the Longtian Airbase, from which Chinese fighter jets can fly to Taipei in seven minutes. The turmac was also seen packed with Flanker-series fighter jets, Russian-made Su-27s and the Chinese variants of J-11 or J-16 series. Special combat drones made from old J-6 jets were also spotted conducting surveillance activity. 

The development comes as tensions were at an all-time high between Beijing and Washington over the US House Speaker's Asian tour which has created a furore among the Biden administration officials. 

As Beijing's People's Liberation Army Air Force strengthened its aerial power instilling fears that a South Asian regional armed conflict is brewing, Chinese ministry of defence spokesman warned that his military forces would resort to  “strong measures” and that there will be "unthinkable consequences" if the US speaker “insisted on going ahead” and Pelosi set foot on the self-ruled Taiwan.

As Pelosi remained undeterred about cancelling her much controversial tour, US officials warned that Beijing's armed forces have bolstered its assets in the Indo-Pacific region, and have deployed fighter jets, war vessels, surveillance assets and other military combat systems that could trigger a full scale conflict. 

Beijing warns of 'possible military response'

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, at a state presser warned that Beijing is "firmly opposed to Speaker Pelosi's visit to Taiwan." He asserted that US Congress must not breach the 'One China policy.' Chinese officials, on the other hand, warned that US Speaker Pelosi’s trip, a rare since 1997, would be met with a “possible military response.”

The recent satellite images show that PLA has bolstered its surveillance and patrols in the Tawian strait. “The Taiwan issue could spark war—including nuclear war—between the two largest economies in the world." Evan Medeiros, a former top White House China expert in the Obama administration told a paper. The US military, separately advised president Joe Biden Biden that Pelosi's tour to Taiwan was “not a good idea." 

Gen. Mark Milley. Credit: Associated Press

“We will do what is necessary to ensure a safe, safe conduct of their visit. And I’ll just leave it at that,” United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said at the end of the 24th Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense (CHODs) Conference. “The message is the Chinese military, in the air and at sea, have become significantly more and noticeably more aggressive in this particular region. So what that results in we’ll have to wait and see," he added.