Despite calls from the West and Japan, China announced on Monday that it would resume military exercises near Taiwan in response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island, which is claimed by Beijing. The Chinese military launched “real fire” wide-ranging maneuvers Thursday in six major areas around Taiwan, a day after the third-ranked American and House of Representatives speaker left Taipei.
The exercises, at least in this configuration, will end on Sunday at noon (6 a.m. in Switzerland), according to China’s maritime security administration. According to official Chinese media, they were intended to train for a “siege” of the island. They drew criticism from G7 diplomatic leaders (US, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, United Kingdom).
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken described the Chinese reaction as “total disparity”. Along with his Japanese and Australian counterparts, he issued a press release calling for China to halt its military exercises. But maneuvers continue on Monday.
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“Target Destruction”
“The People’s Liberation Army (…) continues to conduct practical joint exercises in the sea and airspace around Taiwan, focusing on joint anti-submarine and maritime attack operations,” the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command said in a press release. . He did not specify in which areas these maneuvers were taking place, or whether they were “direct fire” or not.
China’s military has conducted the largest military exercises in its history around Taiwan in recent days, involving the launch of warplanes, warships, drones and ballistic missiles. The maneuvers have specifically “improved and enhanced capabilities to destroy strategic island targets through precision strikes,” Chinese Air Force official Zhang Ji was quoted as saying by the New China News Agency.
China considers Taiwan, which has a population of about 23 million, as one of its provinces, and has not yet successfully unified it with the rest of China since the end of the civil war (1949). Beijing opposes any attempt to grant international recognition to Taiwanese officials and opposes any official ties between Taiwan and other countries.
read more: Taiwan has accused China of simulating an attack on the island
Near the beach
US officials visit the island frequently, but China considers the visit of Nancy Pelosi, one of the highest-ranking figures in the US government, a major provocation. China suspended Sino-US talks and cooperation, including on climate change and security.
To demonstrate how close it has come to Taiwan’s shores, the Chinese military released a photo showing a navy building off Taiwan just a few hundred meters from one of its warships. This shot is probably the closest to the Taiwan coast taken by Chinese forces. The Chinese military has also released a video from the cockpit of one of its fighter pilots showing the coastline and mountains of Taiwan from the entire plane. Missiles were fired over Taiwan this week, the first time, according to Chinese state television CCTV.
read more: Japan welcomes Pelosi but worries about tensions over Taiwan
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