Taiwan deployed aircraft and launched alerts its missile, naval and land units due to Chinese military maneuvers around the autonomous island, where a new president took power this week.
The Chinese military stated that its Two-day maneuvers around Taiwan were punishment for separatist forces seeking independence. Beijing claims that the island is part of the Chinese national territory and the People’s Liberation Army sends warships and warplanes almost daily to the Taiwan Strait and other areas around the island to wear down Taiwan’s defenses and try to intimidate its people. , which strongly supports its de facto independence.
The “China’s irrational provocation has endangered regional peace and stability,” declared the island’s Ministry of Defense. He said Taiwan will not seek conflict but “will not shy away from one.”
“This pretext for military maneuvers not only does not contribute to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but deep down shows its hegemonic nature”, says the ministry’s statement.
In his inauguration speech on Monday, Taiwan’s president, William Lai (also called with the Taiwanese Lai Ching-te), called on Beijing to end its military intimidation and pledged to “do not give in or provoke” to the leaders of the Communist Party of mainland China.
“In the face of external challenges and threats, “We will continue to maintain the values of freedom and democracy,” Lai told sailors and senior security officials on Thursday while visiting a naval base in Taoyuan, south of the capital, Taipei.
Although he did not directly refer to China’s movements, He said that the international society was concerned about Taiwan’s securitya likely reflection of its key role in the supply chains of the most advanced computer chips, as well as a democratic bulwark against Chinese moves to assert its control over the Asia-Pacific.
Lai has said he seeks dialogue with Beijing while maintaining Taiwan’s current status. and avoiding conflicts that could attract the island’s main ally, the United States, and other regional partners such as Japan and Australia.
The main opposition party, the Nationalist partygenerally considered pro-Chinese, also condemned Beijing’s actions.
The nationalists, also known as Kuomintang (KMT), asked “the other side of the (Taiwan Strait) to act with moderation, stop unnecessary maneuversavoid a conflict in the Taiwan Strait and maintain the results of peace and development between the parties.”
Thursday’s tensions arose amid protests in front of Taiwan’s legislative assembly against the maneuvers of nationalists and their allies to use their slim majority to force the approval of laws that could affect military budgets and to judicial and other key appointments.
He Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army The ground, naval and air exercises around Taiwan are intended to test the naval and air capabilities of PLA units, as well as their joint strike abilities to hit targets and gain control of the battlefield, said the command on his official Weibo account.
“This is also a powerful punishment for separatist forces seeking ‘independence’ and a serious warning to external forces for interference and provocation,” the statement said.
The exercises are a “serious warning” addressed to the “independence supporters” of the island, who They will end up “with a broken head and bleeding”said the spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy. Wang Wenbin.
The People’s Liberation Army also published a map of the planned exercise areawhich surrounds the main island of Taiwan at five different points, as well as places like Matsu and Kinmenoutlying islands that are closer to mainland China than Taiwan.
The Chinese coast guard also reported in a statement that they had organized a fleet to carry out law enforcement exercises near two islands near the Kinmen and Matsu island groups, controlled by Taiwan and located off the Chinese coast.
Although China has described the maneuvers as punishment for Taiwan’s election result, the Democratic Progressive Party has been leading the island’s government for more than a decadealthough the pro-Chinese Nationalist Party won a one-seat majority in parliament.
In Australiathe lieutenant general of the Marine Corps Stephen Sklenka, deputy commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Commandcalled on Asia-Pacific countries to condemn the Chinese military maneuvers.
“It is not surprising that every time there is an action that highlights Taiwan in the international sphere the Chinese feel obliged to make some kind of statement“Sklenka told the Australian National Press Club in the capital, Canberra, in a reference to Monday’s presidential inauguration.
“The fact of Just because we expect that behavior doesn’t mean we shouldn’t condemn it, and we have to publicly condemn it. And it has to come from us, but it also has to come, I think, from the nations of the region. “It is one thing for the United States to condemn the Chinese, but I think it has a much more powerful effect when it comes from countries in the region,” Sklenka added.
The main envoy of Japan intervened during his visit to the United States and stated that Japan and Taiwan share values and principlessuch as freedom, democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law.
“(Taiwan) is our most important partner, with whom we maintain close economic relations and exchanges of people, and is our most precious friend,” declared the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yoko Kamikawa, to the press in Washington, where he met with the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
Both ministers spoke about Taiwan and the importance of keeping the Taiwan Strait, one of the world’s most important waterways, peaceful.
(With information from AP)
