US Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln Takes Part in Military Exercise Near Taiwan Amid Tensions With China
The development comes as China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, announced a series of military exercises around the self-ruled island.
In the backdrop of tensions with China over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Taipei visit, US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on Wednesday took part in the RIMPAC-2022 (Rim of Pacific Exercise) close to the Hawaiian Islands near Taiwan. The development comes as China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, announced a series of military exercises around the self-ruled island.
The biennial multinational exercise, which will continue till August 4, is seeing the participation 26 nations, 38 ships, 3 submarines, more than 30 unmanned systems, approximately 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel. Indian Special Forces (SF Commandos) also participating in the exercise
Indian Navy's frigate INS Satpura and P8I aircraft have also been deployed off Hawaii for the Rim of the Pacific exercise, one of the the world's largest maritime drills.
The exercise, spanning over six weeks, is aimed at enhancing interoperability and to build trust among the Navies of friendly foreign countries.
On Wednesday, China carried out live-fire missile drills in Taiwan Straits besides flying a number of Chinese fighter jets near Taiwanese airspace. China sent 21 figheter jets into Taiwan's air defence identification zone on Tuesday alone, the Defence Ministry in Taipei said.
The PLA will also conduct a series of live-fire military drills from August 4 to 7 in six different areas that encircle the island of Taiwan from all directions, Xinhua news agency reported.
China's manouevres are being seen as the biggest flexing of military muscle by Beijing since the 1995 Taiwan Strait crisis, when China fired missiles over Taiwan and the US dispatched two aircraft carrier groups.
Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi met Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday and also visited the Taiwan parliament during the trip, which made her the highest-ranking US official to visit the island in 25 years.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, to lodge a protest over Pelosi's visit, calling it a "serious provocation and violation" of the one-China principle, state newspaper Global Times reported.
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