U.S. Confirms Unusual RC-135W Spy Plane Flight Over Taiwan Amid Mounting Tensions With China
Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff
U.S. Air Force RC-135W
The U.S. Air Force has confirmed that it deployed an RC-135W Rivet Joint spy plane for a highly unusual operation over the northern end of Taiwan. The operation was carried out earlier in the week, and comes amid rising tensions with the Chinese mainland and reported plans for a major new arms sale to Taiwan. The mission entailed operational intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and is one of multiple overflights of Taiwanese airspace made by American military aircraft in recent months. Speaking to the American media outlet The Drive, a U.S. official stated regarding the operation: "I can confirm that a RC 135W [sic] Rivet Joint aircraft did fly over the northern portion of Taiwan yesterday as part of a routine mission... Due to operational security we are not able to discuss the specifics of the mission."
American surveillance aircraft have maintained a significant presence near Chinese airspace in the last several months, and have at times disguised themselves as civilian airliners in order to avoid interception by Chinese combat aircraft. The RC-135W overflight, and earlier flights over Taiwan, appear to be intended as a show of force and an indication of America’s commitments to ensure the two Chinese republics remain separate, and that the mainland does not use its far superior military power to take back Taiwan. Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, has been at officially war with the Chinese mainland, the People's Republic of China, for over 70 years, with both claiming to be the legitimate government of all of China. Unlike the government in Beijing however, the one in Taipei enjoys negligible international recognition and is recognised at the United Nations as a part of the Chinese state - leading a number of analysts to equate it with a non-state actor. Beijing has requested that the U.S. refrain from deploying military forces to Taiwanese territory or selling it offensive weapons largely on this basis.
