Fearing that Chinese missiles flying over Taiwan may become a normal occurrence, the commander of the 7th Fleet, Vice Adm. Karl Thomas, said Tuesday that such actions should be "contested."
"It's very important that we contest this type of thing. I know that the gorilla in the room is launching missiles over Taiwan," the BBC said Thomas told reporters in Singapore Tuesday. "It's irresponsible to launch missiles over Taiwan into international waters. If you don't challenge it ... all of a sudden it can become just like the islands in the South China Sea [that] have now become military outposts.
"They now are full functioning military outposts that have missiles on them, large runways, hangers, radars, listening posts."
According to the BBC report, Thomas' 7th Fleet commands the largest forward-deployed fleet in the U.S. Navy, consisting of 50-70 vessels and submarines, and is a "key" part of the force in the region.
Reuters reported Aug. 4 that China confirmed sending multiple missiles over the island during military drills, one day following a controversial visit to Taipei by U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., showing solidarity with the self-ruled island.
"Our delegation came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear that we will not abandon Taiwan," Reuters reported Pelosi telling Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen duringPelosi's Aug. 3 visit.
Tensions between the island and mainland China have escalated with threats by the communist regime to take it over by force in recent months, something the United States opposes.
While the United States does not recognize Taiwan as its own nation outside of China, it does provide it with the means to fend off a Chinese invasion, the BBC reported.
Pelosi's visit led to more than a week of Chinese "military exercises" surrounding the island, effectively acting as a blockade, disrupting major shipping routes by water and air, and raising fears that China was "practicing" to invade.
Reuters reported that some in China viewed the Pelosi visit as a catalyst to go in and take over the island.
"I think this [Pelosi's visit] is a good thing," a man surnamed Zhao in Beijing told Reuters earlier this month. "It gives us an opportunity to surround Taiwan, then to use this opportunity to take Taiwan by force. I think we should thank Comrade Pelosi."
In Taiwan itself, residents were going about business as usual.
"When China says it wants to annex Taiwan by force, they have actually said that for quite a while," Chen Ming-cheng, a 38-year-old realtor in Taiwan told Reuters. "From my personal understanding, they are trying to deflect public anger, the anger of their own people, and turn it onto Taiwan."
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