China continued military exercises around Taiwan on Monday, defying calls from the West and Japan to end the largest military exercises in its history around the island it considers part of its territory.
“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continued to carry out practical joint exercises and training in the sea and airspace around the island of Taiwan, focusing on staging joint underwater and sea strike operations,” the Chinese army’s eastern command said. it’s a statement.
China began live-fire drills in six large areas around Taiwan on Thursday, the day after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island.
The exercises were originally due to end at noon Sunday, 04:00 GMT, according to China’s maritime safety administration.
But on Sunday, neither China nor Taiwan confirmed their conclusion, although Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation had mentioned a partial reduction.
The EPL text did not specify in which areas the maneuvers are carried out or whether they are carried out with “real shots.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday denounced the “total disproportion” of the Chinese reaction and issued a joint statement with his Japanese and Australian counterparts calling on China to end the military exercises.
This Monday, Taiwan criticized China for prolonging its military exercises.
“The Foreign Ministry strongly condemns China’s decision to extend its military exercises. China’s provocation and aggression have damaged the status quo of the Taiwan Strait and increased tensions in the area,” the Taiwanese foreign ministry said in a statement. release.
– “Caveat” –
China estimates that Taiwan, an island of 23 million inhabitants, is a province that it has not yet managed to reunify with the rest of its territory after the end of the Chinese civil war (1949).
In response to Pelosi’s visit, the second in the presidential line of succession, China suspended its cooperation with the United States in several key areas, including combating climate change and defense issues.
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin, did not formally confirm the organization of new exercises, but stressed that his country’s reaction was “legitimate, rational and legal.”
“This is a warning to those who cause problems as well as supporters of Taiwan independence,” he stressed in regular contact with the press, in which he defended “transparent and professional” military maneuvers.
“We urge the United States to examine its conscience and rectify its mistake as soon as possible … as well as to stop playing the Taiwan card to hinder (the development of) China,” he added.
During its exercises, China deployed fighter jets, warships and ballistic missiles around Taiwan in what analysts see as a mock blockade and invasion of the island.
– Taiwanese exercises –
To show how close it was to Taiwan’s shores, the Chinese military released a video of the island’s coastline and mountains shot by a pilot.
He also disclosed a photo that he claims was taken from one of his military ships that was patrolling near Taiwan and in which the coast of the island can be seen in the distance.
Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang said on Sunday that “China’s brutal use of military force shakes peace and stability.”
The island’s army has been on guard throughout these Chinese maneuvers and announced on Monday that it will host its own live-fire exercises this week.
Taiwanese forces will train to face landings on Tuesday and Thursday in the southern Pingtung region. Several hundred soldiers and about 40 guns will be deployed for these exercises, according to the same source.
According to the Taiwanese military, these exercises were already scheduled and are not a response to China.
According to experts, the exercises reveal that the Chinese military is increasingly capable of carrying out a harsh blockade of Taiwan, as well as obstructing the arrival of US forces, experts estimated.
“In some areas, their capabilities could even exceed the capabilities of the United States,” Grant Newsham, a researcher at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies and a former US Navy officer, told AFP.
“If a (future) battle is confined to the area around Taiwan, the Chinese navy is a dangerous opponent, and if the Americans and Japanese don’t intervene for some reason, it would be very difficult for Taiwan,” he added.
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