Korean media reported that the U.S. military stationed in South Korea sent a U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance plane to the airspace of the Taiwan Strait on the 5th to monitor the dynamics of PLA military exercises.Image: Retrieved from Wikipedia/Public Domain
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army recently conducted live-fire military exercises in the designated 6 exercise areas around the Taiwan Strait, causing tension in Northeast Asia. The South Korean media “Chosun Ilbo” (조선일보) reported that the US military stationed in South Korea had dispatched the nickname “Dragon Lady” on the morning of the 5th. ) U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft to perform the mission, according to military sources, it is most likely to fly to the Taiwan Strait for reconnaissance missions.
The report quoted Park Yuankun, a professor at Ewha Womans University, who believed that the dispatch of U-2 fighter jets to Taiwan was a “Dynamic Force Employment” policy that began during the Trump administration. It needs to be used flexibly, and the Indo-Pacific region is used as a single theater, so the scope of application of U.S. forces in South Korea will be further expanded.” Explains the origin of U.S. forces in South Korea being dispatched to perform missions outside South Korea.
The report pointed out that the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft can monitor targets more than 150 kilometers away at an altitude of 20 kilometers. In the past, it was used to monitor North Korea, and following 2020, it will also be actively used to contain China. In 2020, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense protested that the U.S. U-2 broke into the no-fly zone of the northern theater where the PLA is conducting live-fire exercises; therefore, it is quite reasonable to speculate that the U-2 was launched on the 5th to scout the status of the Taiwan Strait; Actions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea will become more frequent as the US-China rivalry and conflicts intensify.
It is even more expected in the report that the combat power of the U.S. Air Force fighters stationed in South Korea includes more than 70 F-16 fighter jets and more than 20 A-10 attack aircraft. Participate in long-distance overseas exercises as an example.
