Chinese missile fire over Taiwan must be contested or actions by ‘gorilla in the room’ will become new norm: US Navy commander

Name: Mainland China military exercises continue around Taiwan beyond announced deadline
Uploaded: 2022-08-16T07:30:48.000Z
Duration: 2 min 48 s
Description: Mainland China military exercises continue around Taiwan beyond announced deadline

‘Irresponsible’ to launch missiles where shipping lanes are, 7th Fleet commander Vice-Admiral Karl Thomas says

Beijing has stopped short of confirming state media reports that some PLA ballistic missiles in latest drills went directly over Taipei

Reading Time:2 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

The commander of the US Navy’s 7th fleet compares the threats against Taiwan to the South China Sea where Beijing spent years building military bases and facilities on a series of contested atolls, while denying it was doing just that. Photo: Twitter

Agence France-Presse

Published: 3:30pm, 16 Aug 2022Updated: 4:04pm, 16 Aug 2022

Beijing’s recent decision to fire missiles over Taiwan is a “gorilla in the room” that has to be contested, a top US military commander said.

The Chinese military has carried out huge air and sea drills around Taiwan this month, in a furious reaction to visits by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a congressional delegation.

The exercises included firing multiple ballistic missiles into waters off Taiwan – representing some of the world’s busiest shipping routes – the first time Beijing has taken such a step since the mid-1990s.

02:48

Mainland China military exercises continue around Taiwan beyond announced deadline

“It’s very important that we contest this type of thing. I know that the gorilla in the room is launching missiles over Taiwan,” US Navy 7th Fleet commander Vice-Admiral Karl Thomas said in Singapore.

“If we just allow that to happen, and we don’t contest that, that’ll be the next norm,” he added.

“It’s irresponsible to launch missiles over Taiwan into international waters, where the shipping lanes [are], where free shipping operates.”

The 7th Fleet is based in Japan and is a core part of US Navy presence in the Pacific.

Chinese state media reports said some of the ballistic missiles fired by the People’s Liberation Army in the latest drills followed a trajectory directly over Taiwanese capital Taipei, a new escalation that Beijing stopped short of confirming.