In this image taken from video footage run Saturday, April 8, 2023 by China’s CCTV, a Chinese fighter jet performs an mid-air refueling maneuver at an unspecified location. The Chinese military announced exercises around Taiwan on Saturday in a new act of retaliation for a meeting between the U.S. House of Representatives speaker and the president of the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territory. (CCTV via AP)
Beijing: In retaliation for the meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen with the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, China sent warships and flew 42 fighter jets near the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait on Saturday.
The three-day drills were announced by China the day after Tsai returned from the United States. The People’s Liberation Army said it had started the combat readiness patrols and “Joint Sword” exercises around Taiwan.
Eight warships and 42 planes were detected near Taiwan on Saturday, 29 of which crossed the middle line of the strait that separates the island from the mainland, the island’s Ministry of Defence said.
“This is a serious warning to the Taiwan independence separatist forces and external forces’ collusion and provocation, and it is a necessary action to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Chinese army’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy held talks with President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday in California, adding to a series of foreign lawmakers who have met Tsai to show support in the face of Chinese intimidation. Beijing responded Friday by imposing a travel ban and financial sanctions against American groups and individuals associated with Tsai’s U.S. visit.
“This is a serious warning against the collusion and provocation between the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and external forces,” said a PLA statement. The “Joint Sword” exercises are a “necessary action to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The Taiwanese military said missile defence systems were activated and air and sea patrols were sent to track the Chinese aircraft.
“We condemn such an irrational act that has jeopardized regional security and stability,” a Ministry of Defence statement said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government has stepped up efforts to intimidate the island by flying fighter jets and bombers nearby and firing missiles into the sea.
The United States has no official relations with Taiwan’s government but maintains extensive informal and commercial ties. Washington is required by federal law to ensure the island of 22 million people has the means to defend itself if China attacks.
Taiwan and the mainland have multibillion-dollar ties of trade and investment but no official relations.
“We will never leave room for ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities in any form and will definitely take resolute measures to defeat any foreign interference,” said a spokesperson for the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhu Fenglian, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
“Complete reunification of our country must be realized, and it can, without doubt, be realized,” Zhu was quoted as saying Friday.
Taiwan split with China after a civil war in 1949. The ruling Communist Party says the island is obliged to rejoin the mainland, by force if necessary. Beijing says contact with foreign officials encourages Taiwanese who want formal independence, a step the ruling party says would lead to war.
With inputs from agencies.
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