China says it held military exercises near Taiwan on Sunday, which it claims, in response to “provocations” and “collusion” between the US and the island’s authorities. The number of mobilized devices was not specified, nor the exact location of these maneuvers.
China regards Taiwan, with a population of 24 million, as one of its provinces, which it has yet to successfully reunify with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. It views the ongoing rapprochement with dissatisfaction. in recent years between the Taiwanese authorities and the United States, which for several decades has provided the island with military support against Beijing.
A “firm response” to “provocations”
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “carried out joint multi-service combat readiness patrols and joint attack drills in the sea and air space around the island of Taiwan,” said Shi Yi, a spokesman for the Eastern Theater of Operations. .
“This is a strong response to the growing collusion between the United States and the Taiwanese authorities and their provocations,” he said in a statement.
The PLA also released the photos of a bomber, a warship and an aerial landscape showing, from the cockpit of an airplane, what is said to be a mountain range in Taiwan. This last shot is meant to emphasize that the device came up relatively close to the Taiwanese coast.
“This behavior of the Chinese Communist Party once again highlights its mindset, which is to use force to settle disputes and undermine regional peace and stability,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry responded.
“Taiwan-US cooperation contributes to freedom, openness, peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
“Steady Opposition”
The rapprochement between the island and Washington, initiated under former US President Donald Trump, has contributed to straining Sino-US relations. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Saturday expressed its “strong opposition” to the adoption of a US defense law, the “National Defense Authorization Law”, which notably authorizes $10 billion in military aid and arms sales in Taiwan.
In August, the PLA held major military exercises around Taiwan, an unprecedented show of force, in retaliation for US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island.
Chinese diplomacy considered this gesture as a provocation, because the United States officially promised to recognize the communist government in Beijing as the sole legitimate representative of China. The Chinese authorities favor “peaceful reunification” with the island but have never renounced the use of force to conquer it, especially if it declares its independence.
Source: BFM TV
