Finance
According to the Taipei Defense Ministry, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is conducting “what it believed to be a simulation of an attack on Taiwan’s main island” in manoeuvres around Taiwan on Saturday.
According to the Ministry, numerous military aircraft and warships were operating near Taiwan, and some of them had crossed the unofficial center line in the 130-kilometer-wide Taiwan Strait, which separates the mainland and the island and is generally respected by both sides, according to the dpa news agency.
Taiwan’s military responded by sending aircraft, radio warnings, and mobilizing missile defense systems to track the Chinese military aircraft.
The Mainland Affairs Council, Taiwan’s government agency in charge of policy dealings with Beijing, strongly condemned China’s simulation and demanded that it cease immediately.
China launched the maneuvers around the democratically self-governing island in response to a visit to Taiwan by leading US politician Nancy Pelosi. It was the highest-ranking US visit in a quarter-century.
Beijing considers Taiwan to be a part of its territory and strongly opposes official contacts between other countries and Taipei.
According to Taiwan’s military, the PLA sent a “record number” of 68 military aircraft and 13 naval vessels into waters near the island on Friday.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, condemned the “dangerous escalation of the military threat” that was “wrecking peace and stability in the region and must be condemned.”
According to reports, the PLA launched 11 ballistic missiles in the direction of Taiwan as part of its military exercises, which are set to end on Sunday. One of the missiles flew directly over the island and passed close to the capital Taipei for the first time.
Five more missiles were launched east of Taiwan into Japan’s exclusive economic zone, in what was widely interpreted as a warning to Tokyo to stay out of the conflict.
China has suspended dialogue with the US on climate change and certain military issues, while it has ceased all cooperation on issues such as organized crime, drugs, and the repatriation of illegal immigrants.
Beijing also imposed unspecified sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family members, accusing her of “seriously interfering in domestic affairs.”
Speaking in the Philippines, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Washington does not want military tensions to rise.
He urged Beijing to “concentrate on the fact that for the past 40 years or so, we’ve managed this problem, this challenge well and in a way that has avoided any conflict.”
“I think that’s the expectations that countries … around the region and around the world have,” he added. “They certainly expect us, the US and China, to manage our differences responsibly and that’s what we’re determined to do.”
Source:OCN
