The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said at around noon local time on Sunday that it had conducted live-fire drills in the waters and airspace around Taiwan “as planned.”
“The drills focused on land attacks and long-range air strike capabilities,” the commander said in a statement posted on his official account on the social media platform Weibo, without state whether the exercises have ended or not.
Taiwan’s military has “closely monitored” the situation and deployed aircraft and boats to react “appropriately” to Chinese military exercises around the island, the Defense Ministry said. more. It also said drones had “infiltrated” remote islands controlled by Taiwan.
The ministry did not immediately provide an exact number of Chinese planes, ships or drones detected on Sunday morning or say whether they crossed the sensitive line of demarcation in the strait. Taiwan separates this island from mainland China or not.
China announced the drills – the size of which marked a significant escalation from previous activities – within an hour after Pelosi and a congressional delegation arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night. The stop, scheduled but unannounced, was part of a larger Asia tour.
On Saturday, 14 ships and 20 aircraft operated by the Chinese military were spotted around the strait, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense. Of the 20, 14 crossed the divider, it added.
On Friday, 68 Chinese fighter jets were reported in the Taiwan Strait, according to the ministry. Of those, 49 entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone – an airspace buffer commonly known as the ADIZ. That’s just a handful of aircraft compared to the record set last year when 56 Chinese fighter jets entered the ADIZ on the same day.
Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang on Sunday reiterated Taiwan’s condemnation of the drills.
“Not only Taiwan, but other countries in the region as well as freedom-loving countries such as the US, etc. have vehemently protested and condemned China’s arrogant military activities that are disrupting the peace and stability of China. region,” he said in a press conference.
“We urge the Chinese government to inflex its military muscle and disrupt regional peace.”
A spokesman for the US National Security Council on Saturday called China’s recent military activities around Taiwan a “significant escalation in China’s efforts to change the status quo”. .”
“They are provocative, irresponsible and increase the risk of miscalculation,” the spokesperson said. “They are also at odds with our long-term goal of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is what the world expects.”
US allies have also condemned China’s actions, including in a joint statement issued on Friday by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa after a party meeting. margins of ASEAN Foreign Ministers ‘ Meeting in Cambodia.
According to the statement of the US State Department.
China hit back on Saturday night, with its embassy in Australia calling the US “the biggest destroyer and destabilizer of peace in the Taiwan Strait” and disputing the “legal basis” for the Taiwan Strait. Japanese claims regarding the missile landings.
“China is the victim of political provocation from the US. The actions of the Chinese government to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity and curb separatist activities are just and justifiable. “, the statement from the embassy reads.
