China’s military confirmed multiple conventional missile launches in waters off Taiwan as part of planned drills in six areas that are expected to run until noon on Sunday. It activated more than 100 aircraft, including fighters and bombers, and more than 10 warships, state broadcaster CCTV camera speak.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it sent jets to warn 22 Chinese fighters that had crossed the Taiwan Strait median line into its air defense identification zone, while Japan protested that 5 the missile seems to have landed in their economic zone.
The US-Taiwan collusion and provocation will only push Taiwan to the abyss of disaster, bringing disaster to the Taiwanese compatriots.
Reacting to China’s drills, President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan would not incite conflict but would resolutely defend its sovereignty and national security.
“Taiwan will never be defeated by challenges,” he said in a video recording of a message to the people of Taiwan. “We are calm and not impulsive, we are rational and not provocative, but we will also be resolute and not evasive.”
Taiwan says 11 Chinese Dongfeng ballistic missiles were fired in nearby waters – the first time since 1996. Taiwanese officials say the drills violate UN rules , infringing on its space and threatening freedom of navigation and overflight. It has been autonomous since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s communists came to power in Beijing after defeating Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang (KMT) nationalists in a civil war. , causing the Kuomintang-led government to retreat to the island.
The military operation comes after Pelosi’s unannounced visit to support Taiwan in defiance of warnings from China. Before the drills officially began, Chinese naval ships and military aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait several times on Thursday morning, a Taiwanese source said. By midday, warships from both sides were still closing in as Taiwan also scrambled for jets and deployed missile systems to track Chinese planes crossing the line.
“They fly in and out, over and over again. They continue to harass us,” the source said.
China, which has long said it has the right to take Taiwan by force, says its differences with the island are internal.
In Taiwan, life is largely normal despite fears that Beijing might even fire missiles at the main island as North Korea did on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido in 2017.
Chen Ming-cheng, a 38-year-old broker, said: “When China said that they wanted to take over Taiwan by force, they had actually said it for quite some time. “To my personal understanding, they are trying to defuse public anger, the anger of their own people, and transfer it to Taiwan.”
Taiwan says the websites of its defense ministry, foreign ministry and presidential office have been hacked and warned of imminent “psychological warfare”.
Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi State broadcaster CCTV reported Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was “barbaric, irresponsible and absurd”.
Wang, speaking at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Cambodia, said China had tried to prevent the crisis by diplomatic means but would never let its core interests be harmed. harmful.
Unusually, the drills in six areas around Taiwan were published by China’s official Xinhua news agency with a positioning map – a factor that, for some analysts, illustrations for domestic and foreign audiences.
In Beijing, security near the US embassy was unusually tight, although there was no sign of significant protest.
“I think this (Pokeswoman’s visit) is a good thing,” said a man surnamed Zhao in Beijing. “It gives us the opportunity to encircle Taiwan, then use this opportunity to take Taiwan by force. I think we should thank Comrade Pelosi.”
Pelosi, the highest-ranking U.S. visitor to Taiwan in 25 years, praised its democracy and commitment to uniting the United States during her brief stopover. China’s anger cannot stop world leaders from going there, she said.
“Our delegation came to Taiwan to make it unequivocally clear that we will not give up on Taiwan,” Pelosi told Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who Beijing suspects is pushing for independence. official – a red line for China.
China summoned the US ambassador in Beijing to protest and stop importing some agricultural products from Taiwan.
The US and G7 foreign ministers warned China not to use Ms. Pelosi’s visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan.
The United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is obligated by American law to provide it with the means to defend itself. Taiwan rejects China’s claim, saying only the people on the island can decide their future.
