Amidst threats of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a Chinese naval ship just intercepted a U.S. Navy ship in the Taiwan Strait, demonstrating the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) attempt to drive the United States out of Asia. However, the United States reacted strongly stating that it will firmly maintain a commitment to that part of the world and is well aware that the Indo-Pacific region is critical to the security and prosperity of the United States.
On June 5, NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby responded to a press conference on this interception incident, saying: “We are a Pacific power; we are not going anywhere. We have a serious commitment in that part of the world. Five of our seven treaty alliances are in the Indo-Pacific. The vast majority of international economic trade flows through the Indo-Pacific region. We have a real need there, and we will stay there. We are going to strengthen and revitalize these alliances and partnerships.”
Two days before, on June 3, while the USS Chung-Hoon, a Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, and the HMCS Montreal, a Canadian Navy ship, were sailing together through the Taiwan Strait, a Chinese Navy ship maneuvered straight ahead of the USS Chung-Hoon, forcing the U.S. ship to change course. The two ships were within 150 yards (137 meters) of each other and almost collided.
Anders Corr, the founder of Corr Analytics and publisher of the Journal of Political Risk, told The Epoch Times on June 8, “China is attempting to use militarization to intimidate the United States into abandoning Asia through militarization risk or border policies, thereby achieving its intermediate goal of being a regional hegemon, which is one step towards its ultimate goal of global hegemony with Beijing at its center.”
Corr said Kirby’s words were a direct counter to the Chinese regime’s attempt to drive the United States out of Asia. If China is allowed to succeed, it would leave key U.S. allies, including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Australia, at the mercy of the CCP.
In the face of extreme pressure from China, Kirby made clear that the United States will continue to enforce its freedom of navigation program in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. “If they [the CCP] are trying to send the message that we are not welcome, or that our presence needs to be reduced, or that they want us to stop flying, sailing, and operating in support of international law—that’s not going to happen.”