China “sealed off” Taiwan and simulated strikes on particular targets during three days of military exercises around the island.
Taiwan reported detecting warplanes to its east, whereas China stated that its Shandong aircraft carrier participated.
Beijing initiated the drills on Saturday, following Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with the US House Speaker in California.
After the exercises concluded, Taiwan’s defense ministry stated that it would continue to bolster its combat readiness.
The exercises have not been as extensive as those following Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August of last year.
Taiwan views itself as a sovereign nation. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that will ultimately be brought under Beijing’s authority – by force if necessary.
China announced on Monday that its exercises had concluded successfully. Monday, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense detected 12 Chinese warships and 91 aircraft around the island.
Although [China’s] Eastern Theatre Command has announced the end of its exercise, the [Taiwanese] military will never relax its efforts to strengthen its combat readiness, according to a statement from the defense ministry.
A senior US official told Reuters that the administration was closely monitoring China’s behavior in the Taiwan Strait. And that Beijing’s military exercises threatened regional peace and stability.
On Monday, the United States also sent the guided-missile destroyer USS Milius through contested regions of the South China Sea.
A map of flight paths released by Taiwan’s defense ministry depicted four J-15 fighter aircraft to the island’s east, indicating for the first time that the Chinese military is simulating attacks from the east, rather than the west, where China’s mainland is located.
Analysts believe the jets originated from one of China’s two aircraft carriers, the Shandong. Which is presently stationed in the western Pacific Ocean, approximately 320 kilometers (200 miles) from Taiwan.
In a statement released on Monday, the Chinese military verified that the Shandong had “participated” in Monday’s exercises. It was reported that fighter aircraft armed with live ammunition “carried out multiple waves of simulated attacks on vital targets.”
The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that the Shandong conducted air operations in the preceding days.
On the aircraft carrier, jet fighters and helicopters took off and landed 120 times between Friday and Sunday, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense.
In an audio broadcast on Telegram, Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that China had the “right to respond” to what he termed “provocative actions” against it.
Also on Monday, the United States sent the guided-missile destroyer USS Milius through a portion of the South China Sea approximately 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) south of Taiwan.
China said the ship “illegally entered” its territorial waters, while the US said it was legitimate.
Following President Tsai’s meeting with Kevin McCarthy, the third-highest-ranking US government official, Washington repeatedly urged Beijing to exercise restraint. Meanwhile, Beijing had warned the United States and Taiwan of “firm countermeasures” if Ms. Tsai met Mr. McCarthy.
China announced the military exercises after the departure of foreign leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Later, Mr. Macron criticizedly urged Europe not to get involved in Washington-Beijing spat over Taiwan.
He warned reporters on his flight out of China that Europe may become “entangled in crises that are not ours.” Which would make it more difficult for the continent to achieve “strategic autonomy.”
After Ms. Tsai returned from her 10-day trip to the US and Central America, Chinese military exercises began on Saturday.
Ms. Pelosi’s high-profile visit to Taiwan last August, when she was Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, was followed by four days of unprecedented military exercises, during which China fired ballistic missiles into the waters surrounding Taiwan. Since the 1990s, Ms. Pelosi was the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan.
However, some analysts assert that the impact of such military exercises may diminish over time.
Ian Chong, a non-resident scholar at Carnegie China, remarked, “To maintain the same fear factor, [China] will have to ratchet it up more and more each time, as their actions will eventually normalize.”
Since 1949, when the Chinese Civil War turned in favor of the Chinese Communist Party and the country’s previous governing government fled to Taiwan, Taiwan’s status has been unclear.
President Xi Jinping of China has stated that “reunification” with Taiwan “must be achieved.”
