China on Monday continued its live-fire drill around the self-governing island of Taiwan for the third day, in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen meeting US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week.
China’s Military Retaliation
Calling it “a necessary action to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” a spokesperson of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Colonel Shi Yi, said in a statement on Saturday that the Eastern Theater Command (ETC) would carry out a combat readiness patrol around Taiwan from 8-10 April — the ‘Joint Sword’ exercise — as part of its “serious warning” to “Taiwan independence separatist forces’ collusion and provocation with external forces.”
As part of the exercise, Chinese fighter jets “simulated strikes” on the island, which also included the Shandong aircraft carrier.
On Sunday, the ETC said that the combat exercise focused on land strikes and sea assaults to “test the troops’ joint combat capability.”
The ETC added that “Multiple batches of H-6K fighters carrying live ammunition … carried out multiple waves of simulated strikes on important targets on Taiwan Island.”
China's military carried out aerial and naval blockade drills around Taiwan on its last scheduled day of exercises, with a Chinese aircraft carrier joining combat patrols as Taipei reported another surge of warplanes near the island https://t.co/cBdB41a6WS pic.twitter.com/QISrJ08bJo
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 10, 2023
Taiwan’s Response
Meanwhile, the Taiwanese defence ministry reported detecting 70 Chinese military aircraft and 11 vessels around its borders. It “monitored the situation” and ordered “aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond [to] these activities.”
Moreover, it said that 35 of the aircraft had crossed the median line — Taiwan’s de facto border with China — and encroached into the island’s air defence identification zone.
China’s anger comes after Tsai, during a joint press conference with McCarthy last week, vowed to “defend the peaceful status quo” so that Taiwanese citizens can continue to live in a free and open society. The Taiwanese president had also thanked the US for its “unwavering support,” which she said, “reassures the people of Taiwan that we are not isolated, we are not alone.”
US Claims China is Overreacting
The US slammed the drills and said China had “no reason” to turn Tsai’s transit through New York and Los Angeles “into something it is not, or use it as pretext to overreact.”
It also insisted that Washington’s behaviour “was consistent with longstanding US practice and policy.”