- Chinese military simulates attacks on Taiwan
- Taiwan monitors movements of Chinese missile force
- The US says it is closely monitoring China’s drills
- China began three-day exercises near Taiwan on Saturday
- China angered by Taiwanese president’s US visit
TAIPEI, April 9 (Portal) – China’s military simulated precision strikes against Taiwan in a second day of exercises around the island on Sunday, with the island’s defense ministry reporting several air force deployments and monitoring China’s missile forces.
China, which claims to have democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, began three-day military drills around the island on Saturday, a day after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a brief visit to the United States.
Chinese state television reported that patrols and combat readiness drills continued in Taiwan.
“Under the unified command of the theater’s joint operations command center, multiple types of units conducted simulated joint precision strikes on key targets on the island of Taiwan and the surrounding sea areas, and continue to maintain an offensive posture around the island,” it said.
A Taiwanese security source told Portal that Chinese drills around the Bashi Canal separating Taiwan from the Philippines on Saturday included simulated attacks on aircraft carrier groups as well as anti-submarine drills.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it had sighted 58 Chinese aircraft, including Su-30 fighters and H-6 bombers, and nine ships around Taiwan as of Sunday noon (04:00 GMT).
The ministry said it was paying special attention to the People’s Liberation Army Missile Force, which is responsible for China’s land-based missile system.
“Regarding the movements of the Chinese Communist Rocket Force, the nation’s military also has an accurate overview through the joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system, and the air defense forces remain on high alert,” the ministry said.
It reiterated that Taiwan’s armed forces “won’t escalate conflicts or cause disputes” and would respond “appropriately” to China’s drills.
“COMFORTABLE, RELIABLE” US CONTROL OF BORES
Life in Taiwan has gone on as normal, with no signs of panic or interference from the Chinese exercises.
Following a visit by Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, to Taipei last August, China has staged war games around Taiwan, including firing missiles at waters near the island. It has not announced similar exercises this time.
While in Los Angeles last week, Tsai met current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on her way back from Central America, officially billed as transit, despite Beijing’s warnings about it.
The de facto US embassy in Taiwan said Sunday the United States was closely monitoring China’s drills around Taiwan and was “reassuring and confident” that it has sufficient resources and capabilities regionally to ensure peace and stability.
US channels of communication with China remain open, and the United States has consistently urged restraint and no change in the status quo, said a spokesman for the American Institute in Taiwan, which acts as an embassy in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
Washington severed diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing in 1979, but is required by law to provide the island with means of self-defense.
China, which has never refrained from using force to take control of the island, says Taiwan is the most important and sensitive issue in its relations with the United States, and the issue is a frequent source of tension.
Beijing considers Tsai a separatist and has dismissed her repeated calls for talks. Tsai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
CHINESE FIGHTERS, WARSHIPS
China has increased its military pressure on Taiwan over the past three years, regularly flying missions around Taiwan, though not in its territorial airspace or over the island itself.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said earlier Sunday that it had spotted 71 Chinese Air Force planes and nine naval vessels around Taiwan in the previous 24 hours.
The ministry released a map showing that about half of those planes, including Su-30s and J-11s, have crossed the Taiwan Strait centerline, which has served as an unofficial barrier between the two sides for years.
Chinese state media said the plane was armed with edged weapons. Taiwan Air Force planes also typically carry edged weapons when attempting to repel Chinese incursions.
Late Saturday, Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, which runs the Coast Guard, posted footage on its YouTube channel showing one of its ships shadowing a Chinese warship, but did not give an exact location.
“They seriously endanger peace, stability and security in the region. Please turn around and leave immediately. If you continue, we will take eviction action,” a Coast Guard officer said by radio to the Chinese ship.
Other footage showed a Taiwanese warship, the Di Hua, escorting the coast guard ship in what the coast guard officer calls a “patoff” with the Chinese warship.
Nonetheless, civilian flights around Taiwan, including to Kinmen and Matsu, two groups of Taiwan-controlled islands just off the Chinese coast, continued as usual.
In August, civilian air traffic was disrupted after China announced effective no-fly zones in several blocks near Taiwan, where it launched missiles.
Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard in Taipei and Josh Horwitz in Shanghai; writing by Ben Blanchard; Adaptation by Leslie Adler and William Mallard
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