Chinese military forces Pelosi’s plane to make detour, PLA general says

Beijing’s tracking and surveillance push US House speaker to head east of the Philippines on the way to Taiwan, according to Major General Meng Xiangqing

Meng says the PLA’s announcement of drills off the coast of the island caused the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group to back away

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US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (centre) poses with officials as she arrives in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Published: 8:04pm, 5 Aug 2022Updated: 9:07pm, 5 Aug 2022

The Chinese military’s actions forced the plane of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to make a detour on her way to Taiwan, according to a PLA general.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Tuesday conducted “full tracking and surveillance” of the US Air Force C-40 transport aircraft that carried Pelosi to Taiwan from Kuala Lumpur, forcing it to detour east of the Philippines instead of cutting over the South China Sea, according to Major General Meng Xiangqing, a professor at the National Defence University, the PLA’s top academy.

“Our troops deployed in multiple locations became a deterrent to [the plane],” Meng told state broadcaster CCTV, adding that the PLA had staged naval and air forces in areas south of Taiwan, including the Bashi Channel.

But Meng did not elaborate on what measures the PLA took for the “tracking and surveillance”.

Meng also said the PLA’s announcement of an exercise off the east coast of Taiwan had forced the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group, which was near the area to protect Pelosi, to sail hundreds of kilometres east of the island.