China sending fighter jets to Thailand for joint exercises

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

World

Sun, December 3, 2023 | 20:23

China sending fighter jets to Thailand for joint exercises

Posted : 2022-08-13 14:50

Updated : 2022-08-13 15:47

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, air force and naval aviation corps of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) fly planes at an unspecified location in China, Aug. 4. AP-Yonhap

The Chinese air force is sending fighter jets and bombers to Thailand for a joint exercise with the Thai military on Sunday.

The training will include air support, strikes on ground targets and small- and large-scale troop deployment, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

China's expanding military activities in the Asia-Pacific region have alarmed the United States and its allies and form part of a growing strategic and economic competition that has inflamed tensions between the world's two largest economies.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Thailand in June as part of an effort to strengthen what he called America's ''unparalleled network of alliances and partnerships'' in the region.

The Falcon Strike exercise will be held at the Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in northern Thailand near the border with Laos. Thai fighter jets and airborne early warning aircraft from both countries will also take part.

The training comes as the U.S. holds combat drills in Indonesia with Indonesia, Australia, Japan and Singapore in the largest iteration of the Super Garuda Shield exercises since they began in 2009.

It also follows China's sending warships, missiles and aircraft into the waters and air around Taiwan in a threatening response to a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island, which China claims as its territory.

Kurt Campbell, a top advisor to President Joe Biden on the Indo-Pacific, said Friday that the U.S. would take calm and resolute steps to support Taiwan, including sending warships and aircraft through the 160-kilometer (100-mile) wide waterway that separates Taiwan and China.

''We'll continue to fly, sail and operate where international law allows, consistent with our longstanding commitment to freedom of navigation,'' he said in a call with reporters. ''And that includes conducting standard air and maritime transits through the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks.'' (AP)

Top 10 Stories

1	INTERVIEWEcolab helps Korean partners profit from ESG management

2	Major conglomerates speed up generational shifts in leadership

3	PPP slams abstainers in Assembly resolution on China's forced return of NK defectors

4	KOICA’s global supporters conclude remarkable journey with grand finale show

5	Son-dol: a cold day for a ferryman and a merchant

6	INTERVIEW'Lifeline for migrant workers in Korea' - Rev. Kim fights for foreign employees' rights

7	INTERVIEWKorea to work with US, Japan to fight climate change

8	Korean economy to start shrinking by 2050 if low birthrate unaddressed: BOK report

9	Korea vows to foster nuclear energy to achieve net zero

10	Space race heats up between two Koreas after Seoul launches spy satellite

Top 5 Entertainment News

1	JYP to host annual audition in January

2	Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra dazzles audience at Korea International Festival

3	INTERVIEWHip-hop group Uptown returns after 13 years with new lineup

4	ONE PACT debuts hoping to leave big impact on K-pop scene

5	INTERVIEWASTRO members aim to shine in musical theater

DARKROOM