Kurt Campbell, the White House coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs and an adviser to President Joe Biden, said that despite the tensions, U.S. troops “will continue to fly, sail and operate where international law allows, consistent with our long-term commitment to freedom of navigation.”
Earlier Friday, thousands of soldiers from the US, Indonesia and allies from the region held a military exercise with live artillery. The exercise in Indonesia, known as Super Garuda Shield, was in response to China’s military exercises around Taiwan last week. Those were again in response to the visit of the Speaker of the US House, Nancy Pelosi, to the island. The US called those Chinese exercises “destabilizing” for the region.
“The destabilizing actions of the People’s Republic of China, in line with their threatening activities and actions against Taiwan, is exactly what we are trying to avoid,” said Admiral John Aquilino, who led the exercise as head of US forces in the Indo-Pacific.