[ad_1]
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s Eastern Theater Command announced that China will hold three days of military exercises around Taiwan from Saturday. Taiwan’s defense ministry said it detected 13 Chinese aircraft and three warships around the island. The drills began on Saturday after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a trip to the United States.
China will hold “combat readiness patrols” and exercises around the Taiwan Strait and to the north, south, and east of Taiwan “as planned”, the PLA announced in a brief statement without offering other details, as quoted by news agency Reuters.
“13 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 am(UTC+8) today. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities,” Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense tweeted.
“4 of the detected aircraft (SU-30, Y-8 RECCE and J-16*2) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated,” it added.
4 of the detected aircraft (SU-30, Y-8 RECCE and J-16*2) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated.
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) April 8, 2023
In another tweet, the ministry mentioned that “PLA’s Eastern Theater Command has announced to conduct combat-readiness patrols and joint exercises encircling Taiwan starting today. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly with our assets to defend our country.”
PLA’s Eastern Theater Command has announced to conduct combat-readiness patrols and joint exercises encircling #Taiwan starting today. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly with our assets to defend our country. pic.twitter.com/Dq1f3fKBee
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) April 8, 2023
According to news agency AFP, Taipei’s defense ministry also said that Chinese military drills threaten regional “stability and security”.
The Taiwanese President met US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy while in Los Angeles on Wednesday, a move that angered China as it views Taiwan as its own territory.
After meeting with members of the US Congress from both sides of the aisle, I was heartened by their strong bipartisan support for #Taiwan, Thank you to @SpeakerMcCarthy & all our American friends. When we stand together, we are all stronger. pic.twitter.com/HVw2WqxBXz
— 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) April 6, 2023
According to Reuters’ report, Tsai will meet a visiting US lawmaker delegation, led by Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, later on Saturday.
Reuters reported the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, as stating in a commentary on Saturday that the Xi dispensation has “a strong ability to thwart any form of Taiwan independence secession”.
“All countermeasures taken by the Chinese government belong to China’s legitimate and legal right to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it added.
The Taiwanese President has time and again strongly rejected China’s sovereignty claims. She also offered talks with Beijing but has been rebuffed as the Xi government sees her as a separatist. Tsai has said that only Taiwan’s people can decide their own future.
Last year, Beijing staged war games around Taiwan, including live fire missile launches, in August after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.
China’s fresh announcement on drills came hours after French President Emmanuel Macron left China following meetings with senior leaders, including President Xi Jinping, where Macron urged Beijing to talk sense to Russia over the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen, who is in China this week to meet Xi, also said stability in the Taiwan Strait was of paramount importance.
In response, Xi said that expecting Beijing to compromise on Taiwan was “wishful thinking”, according to China’s official reading of the meeting, as cited by the report.
[ad_2]
Source link