F-18迫降台灣「希望北京不會看不懂」

【Comment】

What political message did the Pentagon send to Beijing?

I presume that the date, the seventieth anniversary of Okinawa landing battle on 1945 April 1, is the message which was meant to remind Beijing rulers that Taiwan is not the territory they think they own.

The Washington Times ended this way: “The Pentagon also is scaling back some of its military exchanges with China, a key feature of the Obama administration’s military policies.”

Let’s see what will happen next.    revised on 20150405

F-18迫降台灣「希望北京不會看不懂」○聯合 (2015.04.03) http://udn.com/news/story/7958/813912

美軍兩架F-18大黃蜂戰機迫降台南空軍基地，美國媒體指出，中國大陸最近在台灣附近進行轟炸機演訓，美國國防部藉此對中方釋出政治訊號。

「華盛頓時報」一日報導，在北京的一個中國政策之下，中方視台灣為其領土，美軍所有與台灣的軍事活動都很敏感，尤其這次F-18戰機迫降台南的兩天前，大陸轟炸機才在台灣附近進行重大演訓。

大陸軍事問題專家、任職於智庫「國際評估暨戰略中心」的費學禮受訪表示，戰機迫降或許是單純的意外，「但有人希望北京不會看不懂象徵意義。」F-18戰機可選擇迫降在台灣東方近二百公里處的日本下地島空軍基地，這是較不具爭議的地點，因此這是五角大廈對中方釋出政治訊號。

費學禮說，在大陸使用新的H-6K核子巡弋飛彈轟炸機進行演訓，有意對駐關島的美軍發出威脅信號後，兩架F-18戰機迫降台南，雖然可能是無意的，但確實對大陸釋出表達美國決心的重要信號。

文章引述「新華社」報導，這次轟炸機演訓在上月卅日結束，是中共人民解放軍首次在西太平洋地區演訓，戰機當時是飛經巴士海峽前往西太平洋進行遠洋訓練。

不過，美國國防部海軍陸戰隊發言人葛林伯格表示，戰機會迫降台南是根據發現機械問題時的地點所做的決定，「飛行員根據標準程序，在距離最近與氣候適宜的地點降落。」他指出，飛行員的安全以及能否安全迅速降落，是美軍的主要考量。

Marine fighter jets landing on Taiwan sends China message○Washington Times (2015.04.02) http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/1/inside-the-ring-marine-fighter-jet-landing-on-taiw/

The emergency landing of two U.S. Marine Corps F-18 fighter jets on the island of Taiwan appears to have been a political message from the Pentagon to Beijing following a recent Chinese bomber drill near the island nation that is a key rival to Beijing’s rule.

The Pentagon said the Marine F-18s landed at a southwestern air base that Taiwan’s Defense Ministry identified as the historic Tainan air force base.  Maj. Paul L. Greenberg, a Marine Corps spokesman, said the aircraft were on a routine mission, flying in support of a training exercise.

“Two F-18C Hornets from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (VMFA-323), based at Kadena Airfield in Japan, made a precautionary landing this morning at an airfield in southwestern Taiwan,” Maj. Greenberg said.  “There were no injuries and no damage to either aircraft.  The cause of the mechanical issue which led to the precautionary landing is currently being examined.  As soon as the necessary maintenance is performed, both aircraft will soon depart Taiwan.”

All U.S. military activities with Taiwan are considered sensitive as China considers the island its territory under Beijing’s “one China policy.”  The policy prohibits the United States from formally recognizing the Taiwanese government.

The Tainan air base has a long history.  It was used by the Japanese navy’s Tainan Air Group for its Mitsubishi Zero fighters that were part of the initial attack on the Philippines in World War II.  Tainan also hosted U.S. nuclear weapons during the periods of the U.S.-Taiwanese military alliance.  The base deployed nuclear-tipped Matador cruise missiles.

Additionally, the Marine jets landed on Taiwan two days after a major Chinese bomber exercise near the island.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said the bomber exercises, which ended Monday, were the first time China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force had exercised in the “west Pacific.”  China state television identified the aircraft as H-6K bombers — upgraded, Soviet-design nuclear-capable bombers equipped with air-launched cruise missiles.

The precise location of the bomber flights was along the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and Philippines archipelago.

This may be a simple “accident,” but one hopes the symbolism is not lost on Beijing, analysts say.  Military analyst Rick Fisher said the Marine jet landings appear to be Pentagon sending a political message to China, since the aircraft could have made an emergency landing at a less-controversial location such as the Japanese airfield at Shimoji island, 120 miles east of Taiwan.

“The ‘emergency’ landing for two F/A-18 fighters at an air base in Taiwan, while perhaps unintended, does give China a significant signal of U.S. resolve, two days after China used its new H-6K nuclear cruise missile bomber in exercises intended to signal a threat to U.S. forces on Guam,” said Mr. Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center.

Flying the nuclear-capable bombers so close to Taiwan harkens back to China’s military intimidation of the island in what came to be known as the Taiwan Strait Crisis, when China fired test missiles north and south of the island in an attempt to intimidate voters prior to the 1996 presidential election.

The Clinton administration responded by dispatching two aircraft carrier strike groups to the region.  The incident triggered China’s drive for anti-aircraft carrier weapons, including its DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile, and its first aircraft carrier the Liaoning.

Maj. Greenberg said Tainan was selected for the landings based on its location at the time of the mechanical problem.  “The pilots followed standard procedures and safely landed the aircraft in the closest location where the weather was conducive to landing,” he said.  “The welfare of the pilots, and their ability to land safely and quickly, was our primary concern.”

The Pentagon also is scaling back some of its military exchanges with China, a key feature of the Obama administration’s military policies.