US claims China using military drills to coerce Taiwan, IC
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The Pentagon accuses China of using its military exercises in the South China Sea to try and coerce Taiwan and the international community.
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The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd and US Coast Guard cutter Munro conduct Taiwan Strait transits on Aug 27, 2021 (Reuters)
China is trying to coerce Taiwan and the international community by conducting massive military exercises around the island, US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl claimed on Monday.
"Clearly, the PRC [People's Republic of China] is trying to coerce Taiwan. Clearly, they're trying to coerce the international community. All I say is we're not going to take the bait, and it's not going to work," Kahl told a press briefing.
The defense official underlined that Washington would not give into China's demands of easing the tensions over the US incursions into the Taiwan strait. "The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows it to do so, including in the Taiwan strait."
Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang claims that China was "barbarously using military action" to disturb peace in the Taiwan Strait. However, Taipei is due to begin its own live-fire drills on Tuesday.
China announced carrying out fresh military drills around Taiwan Monday, days after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island escalated tensions between the two powers.
Pelosi's visit led China to announce ending cooperation with the United States on a number of issues such as climate change, anti-drug efforts, and military talks.
The US official's visit to Taipei triggered a series of Chinese large-scale military drills east of the Taiwan Strait, as well as massive rows between Beijing and Washington.
The drills were expected to be concluded on Sunday, but neither Beijing nor Taipei confirmed their conclusion, though Taiwan's Transport Ministry said it had seen some evidence suggesting at least a partial drawdown.
Earlier on Monday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian called on the US government to respect China's legitimate interests and forget the idea of using Taiwan as a tool of control in the South Pacific.
Ukraine not in need of hundreds of HIMARS, US believes
Kahl also noted that Ukraine did not need hundreds of high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) to effectively fight against the Russian special military operation.
"We've sent 16 HIMARS systems, which is actually quite a lot. These are not systems that we assess you need in the hundreds… These are precision-guided systems for very particular types of targets, and the Ukrainians are using them as such," Kahl said when asked why more of the systems were not included in the most recent US defense package.
The United States on Monday announced $1 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, including ammunition for HIMARS and other artillery systems, as well as surface-to-air missiles and anti-armor systems.
The security package is the 18th presidential drawdown of funds for Ukraine, and also the single largest to date, according to the Pentagon. The US has committed approximately $9.8 billion in total security assistance since the beginning of the Biden administration, the Pentagon said in a press release.
