Visitors look at the Chinese military's J-16D electronic warfare airplane during 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China 2021, on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province. China flew 39 warplanes, including 24 J-16s and 10 J-10s, toward Taiwan, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022, in its largest such sortie of the new year, continuing a pattern that the island has answered by scrambling its own jets in response. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
By Huiszhong Wu
China flew 39 warplanes toward Taiwan in its largest such sortie of the new year, amid tensions over the self-ruled island's future and as the U.S. pushes to assert its presence in the region.
The Chinese formation Sunday night included 24 J-16 fighter jets and 10 J-10 jets, among other support and electronic warfare aircraft, according to Taiwan's defense ministry.
Taiwan's air force scrambled its own jets and tracked the People's Liberation Army planes on its air defense radar systems, the ministry said.
The Chinese sortie came as the U.S. military said that two of its carrier strike groups were sailing on Sunday in the South China Sea, led by USS Carl Vinson and USS Abraham Lincoln. They engaged in anti-submarine, air and combat readiness operations.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on why the PLA had flown such a large sortie on Monday, saying it was not a diplomatic matter.
Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949, but China claims the island as its own territory. Beijing has used diplomatic and military means to isolate and intimidate the self-ruled island, but the U.S. has continued to support Taiwan by selling it advanced weapons and fighter planes.
Chinese pilots have been flying towards Taiwan on a near-daily basis in the past year and a half, since Taiwan's government started publishing the data regularly. The largest sortie was 56 warplanes on a single day last October.
The activity has generally been in the air space southwest of the island and falls into a zone that Taiwan's military says it monitors out of national security considerations.
Tensions have been high since Taiwanese citizens elected Tsai Ing-wen as president in 2016, to which Beijing responded by cutting off previously established communications with the island's government. Tsai's predecessor was friendly to China and had endorsed Beijing's claim that the two are part of a single Chinese nation.
The U.S. regularly carries out exercises in the South China Sea in what it calls freedom of navigation operations, in line with international law.
___
Associated Press video producer Liu Zheng in Beijing contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden announced Friday that along with the European Union and the Group of Seven countries, the U.S. will revoke “most favored nation” trade status for Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The consumer price index jumped 7.9 percent in February, marking a 40-year high for inflation in the U.S. This report comes less than a week ahead of the Fed's all important meeting. Kayla Bruun, Economic Analyst, Morning Consult, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Markets opened lower amid hotter-than-expected inflation data, which surged to its highest level in nearly 40 years. Lisa Erickson, Senior Vice President and Co-Head, Public Markets Group, U.S. Bank joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the significance of this figure ahead of the Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting.
As the Russia-Ukraine war disrupts the global economy, sending markets on a roller coaster ride, gold remains hovering around $2,000 an ounce. Often seen as a safe haven in times of economic crisis, Jason Cozens, founder and CEO of gold-as-currency platform Glint Pay, joined Cheddar’s Opening Bell to discuss the latest gold rush, how the war is impacting prices, and how people can use Glint to trade in the precious metal. “You know the stock markets and cryptocurrencies are risky investments," he stated. "Whereas gold is just reliable money. It's no one else's liability if you own."
As Western sanctions weigh on Russia's economy, the country is at the risk of defaulting on its debt. Fitch ratings agency has downgraded Russia's debt for the second time in a week, warning a "sovereign default is imminent." Jesse Wheeler, Economic Analyst at Morning Consult, explains what that means, and how it could have ripple effects across the global economy.
Uber Lyft and Doordash are all set to spend $1 million dollars on a campaign and efforts to stop lawmakers from classifying their gig workers as employees. The campaign features TV and online ads highlighting Washington area workers who say they prefer the flexibility of being an independent contractor rather than following the model of a company employee. Professor at NYU. Stern School of Business and author of the sharing economy, Arun Sundararajan, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
President Biden is looking at unlikely partners to buy oil, after banning all Russian energy imports. Among them is Venezuela, a regime that has been sanctioned by the U.S. since 2019. Ariel Cohen of the Atlantic Council explains to Cheddar News why that might not be a bad choice.
