BEIJING: China’s military said it conducted “strike drills” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan on Sunday in response to unspecified “provocations” by the democratically-ruled island and the United States. .
Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, has repeatedly complained about Chinese military activity over the past three years as Beijing tries to pressure Taipei to accept Chinese sovereignty.
China launched war games around Taiwan after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August, and on Saturday it announced new defense authorizations boosting military aid to Taiwan. Condemned America for that.
In a brief statement, China’s People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said it had conducted “joint combat readiness patrols and joint firepower strike exercises” around Taiwan, though it did not specify the exact location.
“This is a resolute response to the recent escalation of collusion and provocation by the US and Taiwan,” he added, without elaborating.
“The theater forces will take all necessary steps to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Taiwan’s defense ministry declined to immediately comment.
The ministry publishes a daily report at 9 a.m. (0100 GMT) of Chinese military activity near the island over the past 24 hours.
Despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations, the United States is Taiwan’s most important international supporter and arms supplier. US arms sales to Taiwan are a constant tension in Beijing’s relationship with Washington.
Taiwan’s military is smaller than that of its larger neighbor, China. Its air force, in particular, has been under pressure over the past three years as it has repeatedly fumbled to stop Chinese incursions near the island.
The Chinese exercises coincide with newly elected city mayors and county chiefs in Taiwan who took office after the island’s local elections last month, in which the ruling Democratic Progressive Party was defeated.
China has never abandoned the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Taiwan strongly disputes China’s sovereignty claims, saying that the island’s 23 million people can decide their own future.
