China simulated attacks on Taiwan on the third day of wide-ranging military drills around the island. This is what the Taipei Ministry of Defense claims, stating that several PLA fighters and ships were spotted “around the straits” today, with some “crossing the center line” to “simulate a possible attack”. The ROC Armed Forces, Taiwan’s official name, have “deployed alert transmissions, aircraft, military patrol vessels and ground missile systems in response to this situation,” according to a statement.
Taiwan said today’s Chinese military drills appeared like a simulated attack on the island of capital Taipei, as Chinese planes and warships crossed the center line of the straits in a continuous show of force aimed at destabilization. The Taiwanese army responded by following protocol: radio alerts, dispatching air patrols and military ships (already mobilized yesterday to follow Chinese units like a shadow), and deploying ground-based missile systems, the Defense Ministry reported in a statement. The Chinese exercises, now in their third day, come in response to this week’s visit by Speaker of the American House Nancy Pelosi, the most senior institutional figure to visit the island in the past 25 years. While Pelosi and the Taiwanese government said the visit helped show support for Taiwan amid tensions with China, Beijing called it a violation of US commitments to the one-China policy and a step of encouragement for the independence front Island. The communist leadership, on the other hand, sees Taiwan as an integral part of Chinese territory, which should be reunited by force if necessary.
The Taiwanese military said its units on the main island of Kinmen and neighboring islands spotted four small unmanned aircraft off the coast overnight on Friday. The four drones were spotted flying over Kinmen, Lieyu and Beiding Island, according to the Kinmen Defense Command. In response, the military fired warning missiles to repel the drones, which are believed to be operated by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Kinmen, also known as Quemoy, is an archipelago administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name) located just 10 kilometers east of the city of Xiamen in the Chinese province of Fujian.
North Korea has slammed US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her recent visit to the Fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the dividing line between North and South, calling her the “worst destroyer of international peace”. Pelosi, who visited Seoul earlier this week after a trip to Taiwan, is the highest US authority to have visited the area between the two Koreas since President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un there in 2019. Before the visit, Pelosi spoke to his South Korean counterpart, National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, about the “gravity of the situation” and the growing threat posed by the North’s nuclear weapons program. Together they called for “a strong and comprehensive deterrent against North Korea” and pledged to support Washington’s and Seoul’s efforts to denuclearize Pyongyang.