PLA holds drills as Taipei-Manila row rumbles on
Staff Reporter 2013-05-16 17:39
A Chinese J-11 fighter during an exercise. (Photo/Xinhua)
The People's Liberation Army has held simultaneous naval and air force drills as the dispute between Taiwan and the Philippines over the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman rumbles on.
Fifty fighters divided into "red" and "blue" teams from the air force units of the Guangzhou Military Region took part in an aerial combat drill on May 15, taking off from an unknown airfield in southern China. The 12-hour exercise began at 10:00 am on Wednesday morning with the coordination of radar and surface-to-air missile units. Both teams "lost" two fighters each in the exercise, assumed to be a J-10 and J-11 fighter on each team.
At the same time, the East Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy launched a naval exercise in the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines, the area where a Philippine coast guard vessel opened fire on a Taiwanese boat on May 9, killing 65-year-old fisherman Hung Shih-cheng. Taiwan's navy had originally planned to hold a similar exercise, according to the Tokyo Shinbun in Japan.
Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou, has been criticized by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party for being too weak towards Manila and being too slow his determination to defend the rights of Taiwanese fishermen.
A report from Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said Beijing is willing to support Taiwan with its full power. Li Jiaquan from the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said it is even possible Beijing could launch economic sanctions against the Philippines if necessary.
Beijing is likely to be low-key in its approach, however, as it would want to avoid the perception in Taiwan that it is taking advantage of the incident to further its unification agenda, which would prompt a backlash.
