As a result of numerous Chinese vessels and aircraft crossing the Taiwan Strait median line on Saturday, Taiwan said that China’s military exercises appear to simulate an attack on the self-governing island.
In reaction to the scenario, Taiwan’s armed forces issued a warning, sent out air and naval patrols surrounding the island, and turned on land-based missile systems, according to a tweet from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense.
Following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s travel to Taiwan earlier this week, China conducted live-fire military drills, claiming that her visit violated the one-China policy. Visits to Taiwan by foreign dignitaries are seen as recognition of Taiwan’s sovereignty by China, which views the island as a breakaway province that can be incorporated by force if required.
According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, the Taiwanese army discovered four unmanned aerial vehicles flying close to the offshore county of Kinmen on Saturday.
According to Taiwan’s Kinmen Defense Command, the four drones—which Taiwan assumed to be Chinese—were detected flying over the waters surrounding the Lieyu Island and Beiding islet as well as the Kinmen island group.
In response, the military of Taiwan shot warning flares.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen stated in a tweet that her country’s government and military are closely monitoring China’s military drills and information warfare operations and are prepared to intervene as needed.
I urge the international community to support Taiwan’s democratic government and to prevent any worsening of the security situation in the region, she continued.
Quemoy, another name for Kinmen, is a collection of islands that Taiwan is in charge of managing. The islands are situated in the Fujian province, about 6.2 miles east of the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen.
Chinese military drills started on Thursday and are scheduled to continue through Sunday. In an echo of the most recent significant Chinese military exercises in 1995 and 1996 intended to intimidate Taiwan’s leaders and people, the drills have so far involved missile strikes on targets in the seas north and south of the island.
Taiwan has activated its troops and held public defense drills, while the United States maintains a large naval presence nearby.
The one-China policy, which acknowledges Beijing as the government of China but permits informal relations and defense links with Taipei, is still a priority for the United States, according to Pelosi and the Biden administration. Pelosi’s visit was discouraged but not prevented by the government.
In retaliation for the visit, China has also halted defense negotiations with the United States and sanctioned Pelosi.
Longtime supporter of human rights in China, Pelosi. She went to Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1991, two years after a brutal military crackdown on demonstrators there, to defend democracy along with other politicians.
