Taiwan has denounced this Saturday that Chinese military ships and aircraft have once again crossed the median line of the Strait of Formosa in a “possible mock attack” in military maneuvers announced after the visit to the island of the president of the US Legislature, Nancy Pelosi.
In a message published on its official Twitter account, the island’s Ministry of National Defense assures that the objective of this attack simulation would be a “high value asset”, without specifying more details in this regard.
In response, Taipei has issued alerts and has deployed air and naval patrols, also activating its land-based missile systemss, as it did during the day on Friday before the “strong provocation” of the crossing of the middle line of the Strait by “several” Chinese ships and planes. This imaginary line in the strait functions as an unofficial border, but tacitly respected by China and Taiwan during the last decades.
The Ministry of Defense also claims to have fired flares to warn seven drones flying over the Kinmen Islands and unidentified aircraft over the Matsu Islands. Both groups of islands are located near the southeastern coast of mainland China.
US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkenhas recognized this Saturday that the “tensions” between the United States and China “are growing”, but he has advocated that in moments of crisis it is especially important to “maintain the dialogue” and leave “the doors open for diplomacy.”
At a press conference in Manila, as part of his trip to Asia, Blinken pointed out that his country and the world have “a special interest” in maintaining diplomacy and has assured that the United States has maintained “multiple conversations” with China. “I think maintaining dialogue is even more important when tensions between the two countries are on the rise and other nations expect us to maintain dialogue,” she said.
The maneuvers in Beijing are scheduled until Sunday
The movements of the People’s Liberation Army (EPL, the Chinese Army) are part of the military maneuvers that it has been carrying out since Thursday and that will last until Sunday in retaliation for Pelosi’s visit, and that until now have included live fire and the launch of long-range missiles.
These exercises take place in six zones around the island, one of them about 20 kilometers from the coast of Kaohsiung, the main city in southern Taiwan.
Although in recent years China has carried out other drills in the Taiwan StraitThis week’s ones are different because “they cover a larger area, involve more military elements and are expected to be highly effective,” Chinese defense experts quoted by local media reported.
Escalation of tension between Beijing and Taipei due to Pelosi’s visit
Taiwan has described China’s military presence in those areas as a “blockade,” and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called China’s “deliberately heightened military threat” “irresponsible.”
These moves in Taiwan, as well as the suspension of cooperation measures with the United States, are part of China’s response to Nancy Pelosi’s trip to the island on Wednesday.
Beijing described Pelosi’s visit as a “farce” and “deplorable betrayal”, claims the sovereignty of the island and considers Taiwan a rebel province since the nationalists of the Kuomintang withdrew there in 1949, after losing the civil war against the communists.