Amid heightened tensions, China has started a three-day military exercise around the island of Taiwan. A spokesman for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army said on Saturday that this was a “serious warning” to “separatist forces” in Taiwan. For the military exercise planned until Monday, among other things, bomber planes and rocket boats were mobilized.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense registered 42 warplanes and eight warships around the island on Saturday, according to its own statements. 29 aircraft had penetrated Taiwan’s air defense zone (“Air Defense Identification Zone”). This is a buffer zone between the island nation and the People’s Republic of China.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which is responsible for relations with Beijing, has harshly criticized China’s announced military exercises. These would “undermine peace and stability in the region,” it said in a statement on Saturday. The government is determined to defend national sovereignty and democracy and continue to work closely with like-minded democratic countries.
It was only on Wednesday (local time) that Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for talks. The encounter in California was the first of its kind on US soil. Tsai thanked the United States for their continued support. Referring to China, she said, “We are once again in a world where democracy is under threat.”
The Chinese government, on the other hand, spoke of “outrageous misconduct” and viewed the high-level meeting as a serious provocation. In protest, China sanctioned the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, where Tsai and McCarthy met on Wednesday.
The communist leadership in Beijing regards the democratically governed island of Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic and is trying to politically isolate the 23 million inhabitants. Beijing also regularly threatens to want to conquer Taiwan with military means if necessary. At a meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing on Thursday, China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping reiterated his claim to power on the island: “To expect China to be willing to compromise on the Taiwan question is just wishful thinking. Anyone who does that will just shoot yourself in the foot.”
A visit to Taiwan by McCarthy’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, in August had led to a serious crisis. At that time, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army simulated a military island blockade.
The Taiwan conflict is a key issue between the People’s Republic of China and the United States. Washington has committed to Taiwan’s defense capability, which includes arms supplies. Observers fear the dispute could potentially spark a military confrontation between the two world powers.
In light of these military exercises, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen reiterated continued cooperation with the United States. Taipei will “continue to work with the US and other like-minded countries to jointly defend the values ??of freedom and democracy,” Tsai said at a meeting with top US Congress officials in Taipei on Saturday.
Cooperation between democracies has become “even more important,” said the Taiwanese President at the meeting chaired by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul.
According to the US Congressman responsible for all US arms sales to foreign countries, Washington is working to speedily deliver arms to Taiwan. He will work to accelerate arms sales “and get the weapons you need to defend yourself,” McCaul said.
The United States would also train Taiwan’s armed forces “not for war, but for peace.” All democracies must “stand together against tyranny and oppression,” whether it’s “Putin’s invasion of Ukraine or communist China’s aggression.”
Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Saturday that Taipei would “react with a calm, rational and serious attitude” to the Chinese military maneuvers. Taiwan will also monitor the situation “on the basis of the principle of ‘no escalation of conflicts, no creation of disputes’ in order to defend our national sovereignty and security.”
