US ‘will not take the bait and respond’ to China's attempt to intimidate Taiwan, Pentagon says

A senior US defence official said on Thursday that while recent military activities by China’s air force over Taiwan were considered an attempt at “intimidation”, the Pentagon would not “take the bait and respond”.

Thomas Harvey III, the acting assistant secretary for strategy, plans and capabilities at the Defence Department, told the South China Morning Post that the mainland’s flights around the island were “a definite message of intimidation”. 

Harvey cautioned that “we are mindful of the problems with the [Chinese] challenges and potential escalation”. The Pentagon will not “take the bait and respond to provocations by China trying to initiate anything”, he said. 

Harvey advises US Defence Secretary James Mattis on national security and military strategy, including contingency plans needed to respond to perceived aggressions.

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force confirmed on Thursday that it had conducted a second round of training flights in two weeks around Taiwan, adding that it marked a “historical shift” in its combat ability. 

A report on the air force’s official microblog said that multiple missions had been launched from separate bases featuring fighter jets, early warning planes and the H-6K long-range bomber. 

The planes circled Taiwan, crossing the Bashi Strait to the south and the Miyako Strait to the north along China’s naval border with Japan, according to the report.