Taiwan announced on Thursday that it had detected three Chinese warships and an anti-submarine helicopter near the island, following a meeting between the Taiwanese leader and the speaker of the US House of Representatives.
“A plane of the People’s Liberation Army [EPL] and three ships [do EPL] They were detected at 06:00” (23:00 on Wednesday in Lisbon), the Taiwan Ministry of Defense reported in a statement.
“The armed forces monitored the situation and assigned Combat Air Patrol aircraft, Navy ships and ground-based missile systems to respond to these activities,” it added.
Tsai Ing-wen, who comes from a party that traditionally advocates independence for the island, an absolute red line for China, met Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, near Los Angeles, despite of repeated threats of retaliation from Beijing in recent weeks.
China launched unprecedented military exercises around Taiwan last August when McCarthy’s predecessor in the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan.
Beijing promised on Thursday “determined and effective measures to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry compared the Tsai-McCarthy meeting on US soil to “gravely misguided acts of collusion” between the US and Taiwan, according to a statement.
The announcement came as French President Emmanuel Macron is on a state visit to Beijing, and has scheduled a daytime meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
The Taipei Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the autonomous island’s main regulatory body vis-à-vis China, on Wednesday accused Beijing of “obstructing trade” in the Taiwan Strait by conducting on-site inspections of cargo ships. and passengers. .
Chinese maritime authorities had previously said they were stepping up patrols in the waters separating the island from mainland China, without elaborating.
“The Chinese side’s action deliberately exacerbates cross-strait tensions,” MAC said.
“This is a flagrant violation of the cross-strait shipping agreement and maritime practices, which will have a significant negative impact on normal cross-strait traffic,” Taiwan said.
China considers that the democratic and autonomous island of Taiwan is one of its provinces to retake, favoring “peaceful reunification” but without excluding the use of force.
In the name of the “one China” principle, no country should have official ties to both Beijing and Taipei at the same time.
Only 13 states still recognize Taiwan, including Belize and Guatemala, Latin American countries that Tsai visited in recent days to cement relations with the few official allies, after a first stop in New York.
But the United States has long maintained a “strategic ambiguity” on the Taiwan issue. Washington has recognized Beijing since 1979, but it remains Taiwan’s most powerful ally and main arms supplier.
Under Tsai, Taiwan moved closer to the US, and McCarthy called for “continued arms sales” to the island, arguing that they were the “best way” to prevent a Chinese invasion of the island. “This is a key lesson that we learned from Ukraine, that the idea of mere sanctions in the future is not going to deter anyone,” the Republican told reporters.
This is the first time that a leader of the House of Representatives has officially received the president of Taiwan on US soil since direct diplomatic relations ceased 44 years ago.
Source: TSF
