U.S Orders Aircraft Carrier As China Deploys 68 Aircraft and 13 Ships Near Taiwan

The United States has ordered a US aircraft carrier to remain in waters near Taiwan, as China on Friday deployed 68 aircraft and 13 ships near Taiwan during House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

The development has suddenly brought tensions in the region as nobody knows what will follow if the world power clash.

The Pentagon has ordered a US aircraft carrier to remain in waters near Taiwan, a top White House official said, as China continues to express its anger over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit this week through a significant show of combat power around the island.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered that the “USS Ronald Reagan and the ships in her strike group will remain on station in the general area to monitor the situation,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a Thursday briefing.  

“We will conduct standard air and maritime transits through the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks, consistent, again, with our longstanding approach to defending the freedom of the seas and international law,” he added. “And, we will take further steps to demonstrate our commitment to the security of our allies in the region.”

US and NATO countries are dispatching planes filled with military equipment to Ukraine – here are some of the weapons sent to hold back Russian tanks and aircraft.

As fighting in Ukraine enters its third week, reports this week revealed heavily-laden military cargo jets are pouring into an airfield across the border, stacked with weapons and military equipment to help Ukraine’s forces hold back the advance of Russian troops.

Throughout the buildup to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, NATO countries, including the US, insisted they would not send troops to the region amid concern that the presence of their personnel on the ground would lead to a dangerous escalation of the conflict.

That stance has continued since Moscow ordered its troops into Ukraine on the morning of February 24. Instead, NATO nations and other countries are supplying Ukraine’s defence forces – vastly outgunned and outnumbered by Russia’s military – with weapons and equipment that Kyiv hopes will be able to help staunch Russia’s advance.

Around 17,000 anti-armor weapons have been sent to Ukraine in the last number of weeks and are being pressed into use against Russian tanks and other hardware. As of March 8, Ukrainian fighters had destroyed over 1,000 armored personnel carriers, 303 tanks, 120 artillery systems and 80 helicopters, The Kyiv Independent claimed.

With heavy transport aircraft continuing to deliver consignments of equipment critical for Ukraine’s defense, we take a look at some of the weapons being sent to Ukraine as it tries to hold back Russia’s advances. 

Ahead of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan earlier this week, the Japan-based USS Ronald Reagan, America’s only forward-deployed carrier, and two other US Navy flattops, amphibious assault ships USS America and USS Tripoli, were reported to be operating in waters near the self-ruled island.

The US Navy vessels were said to be conducting normal operations and were not a response to Beijing’s repeated warnings of a possible military reaction to the trip. The Reagan is, however, now extending its deployment in the Western Pacific amid an uptick in tensions.

Since Pelosi’s Tuesday visit to Taiwan, tensions in the region have remained high, and China’s People’s Liberation Army has increased its pressure on the democratic island through military exercises this week, drills that have involved firing ballistic missiles over and around Taiwan, as well as flying dozens of fighter jets into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.  

In its latest move, Beijing deployed 68 aircraft and 13 vessels for military activities around the Taiwan Strait on Friday, Taipei’s defense ministry said in a tweet. Some military assets in the group crossed the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait. While this is not unprecedented, such moves are less common.

Taiwan’s military “responded to such a situation accordingly with surveillance systems, CAP aircraft, naval vessels, and missile systems,” the defense ministry said.

“We condemn such action that disturbs our surrounding airspace and waters and continue to ensure our democracy and freedom are free from threats,” it added.

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