China’s military announced new military exercises in the sea and airspace around Taiwan on Monday, a day after the planned end of exercises that began last week.
The Chinese military said it would conduct joint exercises focusing on anti-submarine and naval attack operations, confirming Beijing will continue to maintain pressure on Taiwan’s defenses, as feared by some security analysts and diplomats, according to the Reuters news agency.
– China has fired projectiles at Taiwan
Crossed the “line”
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense later confirmed on Twitter that it had spotted 39 Chinese air force aircraft and 13 naval ships in and around Taiwan’s region on Monday. 21 of the air force planes had entered Taiwan’s air defense zone, including fighters that crossed the “line” in the northern part of the Taiwan Strait.
21 of the detected aircraft (SU-30*8, J-11*6, JH-7*2, J-16*4 and KA-28 ASW) had flown on the east part of the median line of the Taiwan Strait and our SW ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated.
— Ministry of National Defense, ROC 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) August 8, 2022
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In a statement, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the decision to extend the exercise, according to NTB.
– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns China’s decision to extend the military exercises. China’s provocation and aggression have damaged the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and increased tensions throughout the region, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei said on Monday.
– Provocative
The backdrop is US congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
On Monday, Joe Biden commented on the conflict between China and Taiwan for the first time after Pelosi’s visit. He says he is not worried about Taiwan’s independence, but China’s actions in the region.
– I am worried that they make such sudden moves as they do. But I don’t think they will do anything more, the president said during a visit to his home state of Delaware.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned China’s latest exercises
– We have condemned these all the way since China started escalating the activity. It is provocative, irresponsible and increases the risk of something happening. That is what the president is referring to, she explains to Reuters.
Protests from China
82-year-old Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday nightto strong protests from the government in Beijing.
They believe the visit is a provocation from the United States. The reason is that the Chinese consider the self-governing island as part of their territory.
– That’s how it starts
Pelosi visited several countries in Asia last week. However, the visit to Taiwan was not announced in advance, and just before arrival several aircraft from the Chinese Air Force flew through the Taiwan Strait.
China announced last week a large-scale military exercise in six regions around Taiwan.
Øystein Tunsjø, professor at the Department of Defense Studies at the Norwegian Defense Academy, told Dagbladet last week that China almost formed a blockade around Taiwan.
For the first time, China also launched test launches of ballistic missiles over Taipei.
