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Taipei
CNN
—
China has announced that it has begun three days of military exercises around Taiwan. The announcement comes after the president of the island’s democracy ignored repeated threats from Beijing and met with the speaker of the US House of Representatives.
China’s military’s Eastern Theater Command announced the exercise on Saturday, calling it a “grave warning against collusion between Taiwan separatist forces and outside forces, and a necessary move to protect the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” I explained that there is.
The exercise, dubbed “United Sharp Swords,” will “conduct combat-ready patrols and exercises as planned in and around the Taiwan Strait, and in the north, south, east, and waters and airspace of Taiwan. ‘, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement Saturday.
The exercise came a day after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen visited Central America and the United States for 10 days and met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Beijing has repeatedly warned against the trip and has previously threatened to take “strong and decisive measures” if it goes ahead. China has for decades sought to diplomatically isolate Taiwan, claiming its autonomy and democracy as part of its territory, even though it never ruled Taiwan. It does not rule out the use of force to bring the island under its control.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said it was closely monitoring the situation and would make every effort to safeguard national security and sovereignty.
“In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has continued to send aircraft and ships to harass the region, threatening the situation in the region. , has caused serious damage to the peace, stability and security of the region.
The ministry added that it would respond in a calm, reasonable and serious manner and would not try to escalate the dispute.
China responded similarly when then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August and launched a series of military exercises to surround the island and launch missiles over it.
These drills marked the first time that China had launched missiles over Taiwan, and many experts believe they represent a significant escalation of China’s military threats against Taiwan.
Some of these missiles also fell into Japan’s exclusive economic zone near the Japanese archipelago north of Taiwan, heightening tensions between Beijing and Tokyo.
During the August exercise, dozens of Chinese fighter jets penetrated Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and PLA Navy warships conducted exercises in waters around Taiwan.
Beijing said at the time that it was simulating an air and sea “blockade” of the island, but provided little hard evidence to support its claims.
Taiwanese officials reportedly expected a less harsh reaction because the meeting between Tsai and McCarthy took place in the mainland United States.
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