TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan tracked dozens of Chinese military planes and naval vessels off its coast on Friday. Second day of large-scale military exercises Beijing has expressed its anger over the opening of the self-governing island. New leaders don’t accept the argument Taiwan is part of China.
China has issued detailed media statements showing Taiwan being surrounded by People’s Liberation Army troops, and a new video released on Friday showed animated Chinese troops approaching from all sides, surrounding Taiwan in a circular target area and firing mock missiles at key civilian and military targets.
Nevertheless, there were few signs of unrest among Taiwan’s 23 million residents, who have lived under threat of Chinese invasion since civil war split the two countries in 1949. Taiwan’s parliament was bogged down in party squabbles over procedural measures on Friday, but business continued as usual in the bustling capital Taipei and the port cities of Keyong and Kaohsiung.
The Defense Ministry said it tracked 49 Chinese military aircraft, 19 naval vessels and coast guard ships, and that 35 aircraft flew across the median line, the de facto border between the two countries in the Taiwan Strait, in a 24-hour period from Thursday to Friday.
Taiwan’s maritime and coast guard vessels, as well as air and land-based missile units, are on high alert, particularly around the Taiwanese-controlled islands of Kinmen and Matsu, far from the main island and off the Chinese coast.
“Even in the face of external challenges and threats, we will continue to uphold the values of freedom and democracy.” Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te The president made the remarks to sailors and senior security officials during a visit to a naval base in Taoyuan, just south of the capital, Taipei, on Thursday.
In his inaugural address on Monday, Lai called on Beijing to cease military threats and said Taiwan was a “sovereign and independent nation whose sovereignty resides in the hands of its people.”
China’s military has said the expanded drills around Taiwan are a punishment for separatists who want independence. China has been sending naval vessels and military aircraft to the Taiwan Strait and other areas around the island on an almost daily basis, seeking to weaken Taiwan’s defenses and intimidate Taiwanese people who are staunchly in support of de facto independence.
“As soon as they took office, Taiwan’s leaders challenged the ‘one China’ principle and blatantly promoted the ‘two states’ theory,” Chen Bin-hua, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a statement late on Thursday.
The “one China” principle maintains there is one China and that Taiwan is part of Communist-ruled China. Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province and has stepped up military threats against it, even though Taiwanese voters overwhelmingly support de facto independence.
In Beijing, Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, said the drills and China’s verbal rebuke of Lai were intended to demonstrate Beijing’s anger at Lai and his administration’s policies, including a continuation of predecessor Tsai Ing-wen’s policy of building a strong national defense and resisting Beijing’s attempts to diplomatically isolate Taiwan.
“This is believed to be most necessary to convince the Chinese public of the government’s determination and the military’s improving capabilities,” Shi said.
“But Lai, and to some extent Taiwanese people in general, have experienced a lot of that. That’s not going to change and the United States and its key allies will likely further strengthen their military support for Taiwan,” Shi said.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN was closely monitoring China’s exercises and called on “all parties involved to refrain from any actions that may increase tensions in the region.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, at a regular press conference on Friday, dismissed U.S. calls for China to exercise “restraint” over the recent series of drills.
“The United States is not in a position to make such irresponsible remarks,” Wang said.
Washington is legally obligated to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself and considers any threat to Taiwan a matter of “grave concern.”
The United States has helped Taiwan improve its equipment and training, even as official policy remains vague on whether U.S. troops or those of regional allies would be sent to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
China’s drills came on the heels of joint drills by the United States and NATO ally the Netherlands in the South China Sea, a vital waterway for global trade, fisheries and energy resources over which China claims virtually the entirety.
China has routinely opposed foreign military activity in the region, accusing them of operating outside its jurisdiction and without authority. China is particularly vocal about its claims over the Philippines.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Friday Beijing’s increasingly aggressive behavior “The Philippine Navy has been a major player in the fight against terrorism and the US, and we are committed to protecting the peace and stability of the Philippines,” he said.
He said the Philippines would not tolerate aggression or provocative moves.
The administration of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been taking steps since territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea escalated last year. Building a new security alliance Cooperating with many Asian and Western countries, US troops stationed at base in the Philippines Based on a 2014 defense agreement.
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Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report. See AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage here: https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
