Alexei Maslov, director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University, told Sputnik the Taiwan Strait incursion was “completely synchronized” with the Shangri-La Dialogue to put pressure on China.
the US and Canada sent a pair of guided-missile destroyers through the Taiwan Strait, a waterway that Beijing regards as internal, and through which it sees the passage of US warships as provocative. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) sent forces to shadow the two warships, including the Type 052 destroyer Suzhou, which crossed in front of the US Navy’s USS Chung-Hoon at a distance of 137 meters in what Beijing said was a safe and legal maneuver, while Washington denounced it as “unsafe” and “coercion.”Alexei Maslov, director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University, an expert at the Valdai International Discussion Club, told Sputnik on Monday that the Taiwan Strait incursion was “completely synchronized” with the Shangri-La Dialogue meeting in Singapore in order to put political and military pressure on China.“Their actions at sea are completely synchronized with the meeting in Singapore against the background of the refusal of the Chinese side to conduct at least some negotiations with US Secretary of Defense” Lloyd Austin, Maslov said, noting that despite this, Li is “actively negotiating” with his European counterparts. The Chinese refusal to meet with Austin stems from US sanctions levied against Li for securing the purchase of Russian-made weapons systems.
