JUST IN: TAIWAN DETECTS 16 CHINESE WARSHIPS AROUND ISLAND
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As Beijing steps up military pressure on Taipei, Taiwan reported Thursday that it had spotted 16 Chinese vessels in the waters surrounding the island, one of the most this year.
According to the defence ministry’s daily count, the military ships and 34 Chinese planes were seen close to Taiwan from 24 hours before 6:00 am (2200 GMT) on Thursday.
Taiwan officials stated this week that Beijing has been conducting its largest maritime exercises in years, ranging from the South China Sea to the area around Japan’s southern islands.
According to a Taiwan security official on Wednesday, over 90 Chinese coast guard and warships have participated in the drills, which include practicing blockading sea lanes and emulating attacks on foreign ships.
Beijing’s army and Chinese official media have not made any announcements regarding heightened military operations in the Western Pacific Ocean, Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, or East China Sea.
Beijing, which claims the democratic island as part of its territory, was incensed by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s recent Pacific visit, which included two stops in US territory.
According to the security official, China started organising the vast maritime operation in October with the goal of showing the next US government that it could draw a “red line” and shut off Taiwan.
According to the security official, Beijing’s maritime response to then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in 2022 was “much smaller” than the sea drills. China held its biggest-ever war games in the Taiwan area.
China’s heightened military presence on the island is proof that Beijing is a “troublemaker,” Taiwan’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
However, Taiwan was blamed by China’s foreign ministry, whose spokeswoman did not confirm or deny that drills were being conducted.
Beijing’s silence “serves as a way of demonstrating that the Taiwan Strait, as well as the waters and airspace around the island, falls under Chinese sovereignty—hence unnecessary to announce (the drills) to the world,” according to James Char, a China military expert at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.
Although he would not discount Chinese confirmation later, Char told AFP that this was just another way the mainland was trying to impose its views on others.
China is often threatening to invade Taiwan, and it hasn’t ruled out using force to take control of the island.
In addition to opposing any international recognition of Taiwan’s self-government, particularly with regard to formal interaction between Taipei and Washington, Beijing has increased the number of fighter jets and vessels it has stationed throughout the island in recent years.
In addition to his two recent visits to the United States, Lai also spoke with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson last week.
The number of Chinese warships reported by the defence ministry on Thursday was the most since May 25, when 27 navy ships were discovered during Chinese military exercises a few days after Lai’s inauguration.
AFP
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