The moves around the island are in response to President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
More of seventy Chinese military aircraft crossed Saturday the sensitive midline of the Taiwan Strait. China thus began maneuvers around the island in response to the meeting of the President Tsai Ing-wen with the president of the United States House of Representatives.
The three-day exercises, announced the day after Tsai returned from the United Statess, they were to be expected after Beijing condemned their meeting Wednesday with the speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, in Los Angeles. China considers Taiwan as its part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the democratically-ruled island under their control. The Taiwanese government strongly opposes the Chinese claims.
Beijing’s announcement came hours after the close of the visit to China of high-ranking European leaders. The People’s Liberation Army stated that it had started combat readiness patrols and exercises around Taiwan, having previously said it would conduct them in the Taiwan Strait and north, south and east of the island “as scheduled “. “This is a serious warning to the separatist forces of Taiwan independence and the collusion and provocation of external forces.and it is a necessary action to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” declared the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese Army it’s a statement.
He Taiwan Ministry of Defense he said he had sighted Chinese 71 aircrafts, including fighters and bombers, crossingor the dividing line that normally serves as a barrier unofficial between both parties, as well as nine Chinese ships. China was using Tsai’s visit to the United States “as excuse to carry out military maneuverswhich has seriously damaged regional peace, stability and security,” the ministry said in a statement. “The military will respond with a calm, rational and serious attitude, and will stand guard and monitor in accordance with the principles of ‘no escalation or dispute’ to defend sovereignty and national security”.
Chinese state television broadcast images of the drills, set to martial music and showing warships at sea and mobile missile launchers at the ready, although no missile launches were seen. He reported that fighter jets went up armed with real weapons.
A high-ranking Taiwanese official familiar with security planning in the region told Reuters that the planes involved in the morning’s missions had only briefly crossed the dividing line. The situation was “as expected” and manageable, and the Government of Taiwan has rehearsed several scenarios for your answerthe person said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
On his Facebook page, Tsai said she had been informed of the security situation and that the army was at its post 24 hours a day. “Taiwan will join all democracy-loving partners in the world and jointly assume responsibility for ensuring regional stability and prosperity,” he added.
He People’s Dailynewspaper official of the ruling Communist Party of Chinasaid Saturday in an editorial that the government has “a great ability to thwart any form of secession for Taiwan independence”. “All countermeasures taken by the Chinese government belong to China’s legitimate and legal right to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity”he affirmed.
Source: Ambito
