US says naval destroyer sails through Beijing-claimed waters in South China Sea
by AFP Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) April 10, 2023

The US Navy said its guided-missile destroyer the USS Milius sailed through waters claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea in a "freedom of navigation" operation on Monday.

The operation "upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea", the Navy said in a statement.

The destroyer had "asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands, consistent with international law", it added.

After the operation, the Milius "exited the excessive claim area and continued operations in the South China Sea", it said.

According to the statement, the ship sailed within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef -- about 1,400 kilometres (860 miles) from the southern tip of Taiwan's mainland.

Chinese fighter jets and warships are carrying out three days of military drills around Taiwan, including simulated strikes on the island.

The war games follow a meeting last week between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy outside Los Angeles.

China's exercises sparked condemnation from Taipei and calls for restraint from Washington, which said it was "monitoring Beijing's actions closely".

On Monday, Beijing said fighter jets carrying "live ammunition" had conducted "simulated strikes" near Taiwan and that its Shandong aircraft carrier was involved in the ongoing exercises.

The Taiwan Strait -- a history of crises
Taipei (AFP) April 10, 2023 - Ever since Communist China and Taiwan broke away from each other at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the waterway separating them has been a geopolitical flashpoint.

The Taiwan Strait, just 130 kilometres (80 miles) wide at its narrowest point, is a major international shipping channel and all that lies between democratic, self-ruled Taiwan and its giant authoritarian neighbour.

With Beijing conducting a third day of military drills around the island, here is a look at the major China-Taiwan crises since 1949:

- First Taiwan Strait Crisis -

Mao Zedong's communist forces successfully pushed out Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists, who relocated to Taiwan, at the end of the Chinese Civil War.

The two rivals -- the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland and the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan -- stood on either side of the strait.

The First Taiwan Strait Crisis broke out in August 1954 when the Nationalists placed thousands of troops on Taiwan-ruled Kinmen and Matsu, two small islands just a few miles from the mainland.

China responded with artillery bombardment of the islands and the successful capture of the Yijiangshan Islands, about 400 kilometres north of Taipei.

The crisis was eventually defused but brought China and the United States to the brink of direct conflict.

- Second Taiwan Strait Crisis -

Fighting broke out again in 1958 as Mao's forces conducted an intense bombardment of Kinmen and Matsu in another bid to dislodge Nationalist troops.

Concerned that the loss of the islands might lead to the collapse of the Nationalists and Beijing's eventual takeover of Taiwan, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered his military to escort and resupply their Taiwanese allies.

The United States at one point even briefly considered deploying nuclear weapons against China.

Unable to take the offshore islands or bombard the Nationalists into submission, Beijing announced a ceasefire.

Mao's forces would still intermittently shell Kinmen up to 1979, but an otherwise tense stalemate set in.

- Third Taiwan Strait Crisis -

It would be another 37 years before the next crisis.

In the intervening decades, China and Taiwan both changed considerably.

China remained Communist Party-controlled following Mao's death but began a period of reform and opening up to the world.

Taiwan began shaking off Chiang's authoritarian years and evolved into a progressive democracy, with many embracing a distinctly Taiwanese -- not Chinese -- identity.

Tensions exploded again in 1995 when China began test-firing missiles in the waters around Taiwan to protest against a visit by Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui to his alma mater in the United States.

Beijing loathed Lee because he favoured Taiwan declaring itself an independent state.

Further missile tests were carried out a year later as Taiwan held its first direct presidential election.

The display backfired.

The United States sent two aircraft carrier groups to push China into backing down and Lee won the election by a large margin.

A year later, Newt Gingrich became the first US House speaker to visit Taiwan.

- Largest-ever exercises -

It took over 25 years before the next House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, went to Taiwan.

Following Nancy Pelosi's visit in August 2022, China unleashed its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan, sending warships, missiles and fighter jets around the island.

Taipei condemned the drills and missile tests as preparation for an invasion.

Less than a year later, Tsai arrived in Los Angeles to meet Pelosi's successor, Kevin McCarthy, setting off another round of Chinese military exercises.

Analysts had initially said that Tsai meeting McCarthy in the United States may placate Beijing and avert a military show of strength.

But on Saturday, China began three days of military drills it described as "a stern warning" to Taiwan over the meeting.

The drills included simulated strikes on the island. On Monday, China was scheduled to conduct live-fire drills.

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