The United States and South Korea are carrying out extensive air drills while the Chinese military is escorting the USS Milius, a US Navy destroyer, through the Taiwan Strait.
According to Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Zone Combat Command spokesman Shi Yi, China has deployed detachments to escort and protect the USS Milius during its passage through the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese military is maintaining a high degree of combat readiness to uphold national sovereignty, security, and regional stability.
The relationship between China and Taiwan has been tense since the civil war between Kuomintang forces and the Communist Party of China in 1949. Although commercial and informal contacts resumed in the late 1980s and communication through non-governmental organizations was established from the early 1990s, tensions between the two parties persist.
Meanwhile, the United States and South Korea have begun large-scale combined air exercises, involving more than 100 aircraft and more than 1,400 soldiers. The Korea Flying Training (KFT) will take place at the Gwangju airbase for more than a week, with more than 60 South Korean warplanes and around 40 American ones mobilized.
In addition, the United States, South Korea, and Japan are conducting missile defense exercises in the international waters of the Sea of Japan, while North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the Sea of Japan, causing concern in the international community. This launch was the ninth by North Korea this year, after Pyongyang launched 37 ballistic missiles in 2022.
The situation in the region remains complex, with geopolitical tensions evident in the conduct of air exercises, military escorts, and missile launches.