Hours after the Taiwanese president’s visit to the United States, China is sending dozens of planes to the Taiwan Strait to conduct military exercises. Tension in the region is rising.
As a result, China is growing angry over Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday. On Friday, China had already imposed sanctions on two US organizations that hosted Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during her visit to the United States.
China’s People’s Liberation Army announced Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after Ng’s return home, that it will conduct military exercises “as planned” from April 8 to 10 in the Taiwan Strait and the north, south and east of the island.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s defense minister reports that 42 combat aircraft and eight warships of the People’s Liberation Army have been spotted in Taiwan’s air defense zone: 29 aircraft are said to have already crossed the Taiwanese border in the Taiwan Strait – the sea separating Taiwan and China.
For years, China has been sending warships and aircraft to the Taiwan area for military exercises. Chinese warplanes are increasingly crossing the middle line in the Taiwan Strait. This median line has long been accepted by both countries as the official border between China and Taiwan. 29 planes cross that border at once, “more than average”.
Last August, Democrat Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan as the first female speaker of the US House of Representatives in 25 years. The SPLA immediately conducted missile tests and laid siege to the island. At the moment, China has not yet announced any missile exercises in the region.
territorial claim
According to Taiwan’s defense minister, Taiwan will respond “calmly, rationally and earnestly” to China’s provocation. Taiwan has no intention of “escalating conflict” or “stirring up quarrels.” In recent years, China has continued to send planes and ships to harass the region. Now China is using Tsai’s visit to the United States as an excuse to conduct military exercises. In doing so, the Republic endangers regional peace, stability and security.
“Any countermeasures taken by China are legitimate and legal. They must safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China said Saturday morning.
Taiwanese President Tsai has already rejected the allegations. I’ve already offered several times to sit around the table. China has long rejected these proposals, as the country views them as separatist. This Saturday, Tsai will meet with a delegation of US parliamentarians.
Democratic Taiwan has never been part of the People’s Republic of China. However, China considers the island to be part of its territory. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there is great concern in the West that China might also use military force in its territorial claim to Taiwan.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is visiting China this week. I have already stressed the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait. Chinese President Xi Jinping has described the idea that China will someday compromise on Taiwan as wishful thinking.
