INTERNATIONAL – China is continuing its military maneuvers. This Monday, April 10, Beijing is conducting live-fire exercises in the Taiwan Strait to simulate a “loopback” of the island, on the third day of Operation “Joint Sword”. United Stateswho called for the ” detention “for their part deployed a destroyer in waters claimed by China.
The Chinese maneuvers, which started on Saturday, are aimed at protesting the meeting last Wednesday of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen with the Speaker of the American House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.
The goal? Simulate a “loopback” of the territory of 23 million inhabitants claimed by Beijing, explained the Chinese army, in particular a “air blockade”, according to state television CCTV. The Army’s Eastern Theater Command said Shandong, one of China’s two aircraft carriers, has “participated in the exercise of the day”.
Taiwan said it detected 11 Chinese warships and 59 aircraft around the island on Monday. During the weekend, fighter planes and warships had simulated targeted bombardments against the island, within the framework of this operation denounced by Taiwan.
US destroyer in Chinese waters
The United States, which called on Beijing to ” detention “also seemed to want to make a show of force: the American destroyer USS Milius carried out a “freedom of navigation operation” in an area of the South China Sea claimed by Beijing. It’s a « intrusion »China immediately said.
In a video posted on the Army’s Eastern Theater Command WeChat account on Monday, a Chinese pilot said he was “arrived near the northern part of the island of Taiwan”with missiles “locked in place”.
In another video, set to dramatic music, an officer’s whistle causes military personnel to run into position, while a mock barrage over Taiwan appears on screen.
What to worry the population: “We ordinary people just want a simple and stable life”Lin Ke-qiang, a 60-year-old resident of Beigan Island, in the Matsu archipelago, which belongs to Taiwan but is visible from the Chinese coast, told AFP. “If a war comes, now that their missiles are so advanced, we have no chance of resisting, we will be crushed”adds the man, who works as a cook.
Live fire exercises
On Saturday, President Tsai Ing-wen denounced the“authoritarian expansionism” of China and assured that Taiwan “would continue to work with the United States and other countries (…) to uphold the values of freedom and democracy”. The US State Department reiterated its call for “don’t change the status quo”while the Pentagon he said to him “follow events closely”.
China views with displeasure the rapprochement in recent years between the Taiwanese authorities and the United States which, despite the absence of official relations, provides the island with substantial military support.
It considers Taiwan as a province that it has not yet succeeded in reunifying with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Beijing is aiming for this reunification, by force if necessary.
“A Serious Warning”
Monday’s live-fire exercises are being held in the Taiwan Strait near the coast of Fujian (east), the province facing the island, according to local Chinese maritime authorities. It is located 80 kilometers south of the Matsu Archipelago and 190 kilometers from Taipei. They are conducted around Pingtan, an island that is the closest point between China and Taiwan.
The maneuvers “serve as a serious warning against collusion between separatist forces seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ and outside forces, as well as their provocative activities”warned a spokesman for the Chinese army, Shi Yi.
Early Monday, an AFP team on site in Pingtan saw no increased military activity. A small number of fishing boats and transport vessels were visible from the coast, but more distant vessels were not identifiable with the naked eye.
The last major deployment around the island took place last August, when China engaged in unprecedented military maneuvers around Taiwan and fired missiles in response to a visit to the island by Democrat Nancy Pelosi, then president of bedroom.
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