- US Navy transport jet emits transponder signal, showing China and others its flight over island
- Report that aircraft stopped at Taiwan airbase rejected by island’s defence ministry
South China Morning Post7
Date: 10 Jun, 2020
By: Lawrence Chung
A rare flyover of Taiwan by a United States military transport jet this week raised concerns it was the beginning of more frequent US flights to help the self-ruled island counter growing military threats from mainland China.While mainland analysts said the move appeared to be a test of Beijing’s reaction, Taiwan observers noted that in the past year the US had made the passage of its warships and warplanes in the Taiwan Strait public – switching on signals that could be detected – whenever Beijing staged war games nearby to try to intimidate the self-ruled island.
The emission of signals was intended to make the US military presence known to both Beijing and Taipei, an alert that it was deliberately sailing over the Taiwan Strait even though Beijing considered Taiwan its wayward province, observers said.
Chieh Chung, a senior researcher of national security study at the National Policy Foundation, an opposition Kuomintang think tank, said that in addition to social media posts about its military activities, the US had allowed its warplanes and warships in and near the strait to be spotted by military watchers and websites such as Aircraft Spots via transponder systems on board. [FULL STORY]
