On Wednesday, the Chinese military stated that it had conducted a combat readiness patrol in the airspace and seas around Taiwan in recent days. It claimed it was necessary to respond to Washington’s “collusion”.
China claims Taiwan is democratically governed by Taiwan and has intensified its military maneuvers around Taiwan over the past two-years as it tries to press Taipei into accepting its sovereignty claims.
China is particularly upset by the U.S. support of Taiwan.
Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden upset China by suggesting a shift in American policy on Taiwan. He said that the United States would be involved militarily if China attacked the island. Officials from the United States said that there has been no change in policy.
The People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command stated that the combat readiness patrol had been conducted in Taiwan over the past few days and was “a necessary step against U.S. Taiwan collusion”.
The command stated that the United States had made a number of moves in recent times on Taiwan, including saying and doing one thing, encouraging support for Taiwan independence forces, which would push Taiwan into an unsafe situation.
It stated that Taiwan is part China, and that Chinese troops are continuing to improve military training and prepares to “thwart” interference by external forces’ and actions of those who support Taiwan independence.
Although the date of the drill was not stated, Taiwan reported Monday that China’s air force invaded its air defense zone. According to the island’s defense ministry, 30 aircraft were spotted by Taiwanese fighters as they scrambled for warning.
Taiwan complained about such missions repeatedly in its Air Defence Identification Zone (or ADIZ).
There have been no shots fired. The Chinese aircraft were not flying in Taiwan’s Airspace, but in Taiwan’s ADIZ. Taiwan monitors and patrols a larger area to ensure it has more time to respond to threats.
Taiwan claims that only its people are entitled to determine the future of the island, rejecting China’s sovereignty claims.
Taiwan’s government stated that it is committed to peace and will continue to defend itself if necessary.
