The sun sets behind rain clouds at a ferry terminal in Xiamen city in China’s southeastern Fujian province, across from Taiwan’s Kinmen island, on May 23, 2024. China launched a drill it called “United Sword-2024A” on May 23, surrounding Taiwan with military aircraft and naval vessels and vowing “severe punishment” for separatist forces on the island. (Photo by Greg Baker/AFP) (Photo by Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)
(NewsNation) — The U.S. State Department is urging China to “act with restraint” after the People’s Liberation Army conducts joint military exercises with Taiwan.
“We urge Beijing to exercise restraint. Using a normal, routine democratic transition as a pretext for military provocation risks escalation and undermines long-standing norms that have maintained peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait for decades. This is critical to regional and global security and prosperity and a matter of international concern,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement on Saturday.
China’s military said the two-day drills near Taiwan were a punishment for separatist forces seeking independence. China has been sending naval vessels and warplanes around the island almost daily to weaken the island’s defenses and intimidate people who remain staunch supporters of de facto independence.
Taiwan scrambled fighter jets and put missile, naval and army units on alert on Thursday after China conducted military drills around the self-ruled island.
Beijing, meanwhile, claims the island is part of Chinese territory.
“We are closely monitoring China’s activities and coordinating with allies and partners on shared concerns,” Miller said in a statement.
In his inaugural address on Monday, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te called on Beijing to cease military threats and vowed to “neither submit nor provoke” mainland China’s Communist leadership.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
