Ships and warplanes of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA, Chinese Army) crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait this Fridaywhich the island’s Ministry of Defense has described as “strong provocation”.
The military portfolio has reported in a statement released by the official CNA agency that at 11:00 local time (03:00 GMT) “several” Chinese planes and ships were sighted in waters near Taiwansome of them “crossing the midline”.
This division functions as an unofficial but tacitly respected border for China and Taiwan, which are experiencing one of their most tense moments after the visit to the island on Wednesday by the president of the US Legislature, Nancy Pelosi, to whom Beijing He warned that he would respond forcefully.
The movements of the Chinese Army are part of the military maneuvers that the PLA is carrying out from Thursday and until next Sunday around Taiwan as a result of the US official’s trip, and which have so far included live fire and the launch of missiles from long-range.
The attention is focused this Friday on the two aircraft carriers of the Chinese Navy, the Liaoning and Shandongwhich have not been sighted for the moment participating in the maneuvers but are not in their base ports either.
“Highly provocative” maneuvers
The Taiwanese Ministry already denounced yesterday Thursday that 22 Chinese military planes crossed the median line on that day, but for now it has not detailed how many ships and aircraft have done so this Friday. In response to the “highly provocative” Chinese maneuvers, the Taiwanese Army assured that it will increase its capacity and preparation to safeguard the island’s sovereignty “without escalating tensions or provoking conflicts that could lead to war.”
Thursday’s exercises, which involved the closure of air and sea space in six areas around the island, included long-range artillery target practice with “multiple types of conventional missiles,” as well as the aerial deployment of dozens of aircraft military between fighters and bombers.
This is the first time that launches of this type have been recorded in the vicinity of Taiwan since the third Strait crisis between 1995 and 1997.
Analysts quoted by the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post ventured that the People’s Liberation Army (EPL, Chinese Army) could use this Friday bomber planes with long-range cruise missiles like the CJ-20.
The president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, described in the last hours the Chinese maneuvers as an “irresponsible act” that fuels tensions in the Indo-Pacific, demanded restraint from Beijing and asked for the support of the international community.
He also said that Taiwan will not contribute to the escalation of tensions but will defend its sovereignty. China, which described Pelosi’s visit as a “farce” and “deplorable betrayal”, claims sovereignty over the island and considers Taiwan a rebellious province since the Kuomintang nationalists withdrew there in 1949, after losing the civil war against the communists
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS
China summons European diplomats
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, for its part, has convened diplomatic representatives of European countries and the European Union (EU) in protest at the statements made by the G7 Foreign Ministers and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs in relation to Taiwan, Chinese media reported today.
The G7 foreign ministers called on Beijing on Thursday to refrain from using the recent visit to Taiwan by the president of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, as “a pretext for carrying out aggressive military actions in the Taiwan Strait“.
For his part, the High Representative of the EU, Joseph Borrell, reiterated in recent hours what was said by the G7 ministers and asked “all parties to remain calm and act transparently.” Borrell assured this Friday that “no one can modify the status quo unilaterally, and even less so by resorting to force.”
Beijing’s response to Pelosi’s controversial trip has sparked numerous international reactions, including that of the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, who is following “closely and with concern” the Chinese military maneuvers, according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.
Meanwhile, White House spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that the US sees the maneuvers as a “significant escalation” of tension in the area and decided to leave the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier near the island to monitor the situation.
China, which called Pelosi’s visit “farce” and “deplorable betrayal”claims sovereignty over the island and considers Taiwan a rebel province since the Kuomintang nationalists withdrew there in 1949, after losing the civil war against the communists.