China fired its most direct warning shot yet amid reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may visit Taiwan on Friday, saying that if the speaker's plane is accompanied by U.S. fighter jets, they would not rule out shooting them down.
'If US fighter jets escort Pelosi's plane into Taiwan, it is invasion. The PLA has the right to forcibly dispel Pelosi's plane and the US fighter jets, including firing warning shots and making tactical movement of obstruction. If ineffective, then shoot them down,' Hu Xijin, a commentator with the Chinese state-affiliated Global Times, wrote on Twitter.
Earlier China warned the U.S. against crossing a 'red line' as it released not-so-subtle warnings against the speaker, which China has reasoned is number three in line in U.S. government, from visiting Taiwan.
The U.S. must be prepared to 'bear all consequences' if Pelosi chooses to visit Taiwan, Chinese foreign minister Zhao Lijian said in a briefing Friday.
National Security Spokesman John Kirby said Friday the Pentagon has seen no indication of a military threat.
'We just don't have any concrete indications of something happening from a military perspective on the Chinese part,' Kirby said.
'There's no reason for it to come to come to blows, to come to increased physical tension. There's no reason for that because there's been no change in American policy,' he added.
The speaker has not confirmed whether she will visit the island democracy during an Asian tour that includes stops in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. In response to a question about the potential Taiwan trip on Friday, Pelosi only said:'I don't talk about my travel because it's a security issue.
The speaker added: 'The President earlier this term talked about a strong emphasis on the Asia Pacific ... and the Congress of the United States will be part of that initiative.'
Still, tensions have mounted over the possibility, with the Chinese navy monitoring the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier's activities in the South China Sea.
The Reagan and its strike group left Singapore on Monday and headed to the South China Sea. The nuclear-powered warship was cruising about 185 km (115 miles) from the contested Fiery Cross Reef on Thursday, according to the South China Post. If the vessels continue in the direction they are headed, they will reach the Taiwan Strait.
Two other vessels - identified by Vietnam-based maritime observer Duan Dang as a Chinese Type 052D destroyer and a Type 054A frigate - were seen 27km and 23km away.
Meanwhile the Chinese navy is conducting military exercises off its southern coast near Guangdong, following exercises in nearby Hainan province.
President Biden said last week the Pentagon thought a Taiwan trip was 'not a good idea.'
'Well, I think that the military thinks it's not a good idea right now,' Biden said in response to a question about Pelosi's reported trip. 'But I don't know what the status of it is.'
Biden and President Xi Jinping spoke on the phone Thursday, where China claimed to have offered a stiff warning ahead of the unconfirmed trip.
Chinese state media released some excerpts from the call, including Xi telling Biden: 'Those who play with fire will only get burnt. Hope the U.S. side can see this clearly.'
How Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan set off a new wave of US-China electronic warfare
Chinese and the US forces were locked in a reconnaissance and electronic warfare tussle in the lead-up to and after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, according to military sources and defence analysts.
But not all of it was successful, according to sources close to the Chinese military.
State broadcaster CCTV reported the Chinese military used naval and air forces in multiple locations to conduct “full tracking and surveillance” against the US Air Force transport aircraft flying Pelosi and her delegation from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei on August 2.
The tracking was aimed at “deterrence”, the report quoted PLA Major General Meng Xiangqing, from the PLA National Defence University, as saying.
However a source said the People’s Liberation Army’s tracking efforts – which involved jets and Type 055 destroyers – failed.
“The PLA deployed some electronic warfare aircraft such as the J-16D and warships to try to locate Pelosi’s aircraft, but were not successful,” the source said.
“Almost all the PLA electronic warfare equipment couldn’t work properly because they were all jammed by electronic interference by the American aircraft strike group sent by the Pentagon to escort her.”
On the flight, Pelosi’s aircraft took an unusually circuitous route by heading southeast towards the Indonesian part of Borneo, then turning north to fly along the eastern part of the Philippines.
He Yuan Ming, an independent airpower analyst, said it was not surprising that the Chinese vessels did not detect the flight.
“Even if the Type 055 [destroyer’s] radar is said to be 500km (310 miles), its effective range in the real world would be much less,” he said.
“Couple this with the vast operating area as well as the Type 055’s relative newness both in terms of its hardware [capabilities] and software [crew], there should be little surprise that the PLA [naval] cruiser could not locate [Pelosi’s plane].”
A lot more at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3188803/how-pelosis-trip-taiwan-set-new-wave-us-china-electronic