The rise in tensions continues this Saturday between China and Taiwan. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry detected 9 Chinese warships and 71 fighter jets around the island on the first day of China’s military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. The number of military vehicles was revised upwards this Saturday afternoon. 8 boats and 42 planes were initially detected.
In addition, 29 planes crossed the median line which separates China from Taiwan, the ministry said, denouncing “irrational actions”. These exercises threaten “stability and security” in the Asia-Pacific region, he said, amid renewed tensions with Beijing, the Chinese capital, after a visit to the United States by President Tsai Ing- wen. China “used President Tsai’s visit” to the United States “as an excuse to conduct military exercises, which seriously undermined peace, stability and security in the region”, developed the Ministry.
The United States called on China in the evening to show restraint, stressing that Washington was ready to meet its security commitments in Asia. “Our channels of communication with the People’s Republic of China remain open, and we have always called for restraint and not changing the status quo,” a State Department spokesperson said.
“Safeguarding China’s Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity”
The ongoing military maneuvers are expected to last three days and “serve as serious warnings against collusion between separatist forces seeking Taiwan independence and outside forces, as well as their provocative activities,” a Chinese military spokesperson warned. These operations, which also include “patrols”, are “necessary to safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Live-fire exercises will be held Monday in the Taiwan Strait near the coast of Fujian (east), the province facing the island, local maritime authorities also said. These exercises, which have an “operational” dimension, are intended to demonstrate that the Chinese army will be ready, “if the provocations intensify”, to “settle once and for all the question of Taiwan”, indicates to the Agency. France Presse (AFP) military analyst Song Zhongping.
Chinese state media describes the drills as a “total encirclement” of Taiwan. “Today’s exercise focuses on the ability to take control of the sea, airspace and information in order to create deterrence and total encirclement,” said CCTV.
“Continued authoritarian expansionism”
Taiwan is facing “authoritarian expansionism” from China, President Tsai Ing-wen reacted. “In recent years, we have faced continued authoritarian expansionism,” she said, adding that Taiwan “will continue to work with the United States and other countries (…) to uphold the values of freedom and democracy “.
China had promised Thursday a “determined” response after the meeting in the United States between Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives (the American equivalent of the National Assembly), and the Taiwanese president. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had specifically mentioned “determined and effective measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity”. He had asked Americans to “stop going down a wrong and dangerous path”.
China considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces to be taken back, by force if necessary, and regards any meeting between Taiwanese and foreign leaders as an attack on its sovereignty. On her way home from a tour of Central America, President Tsai met with McCarthy on Wednesday in California, along with a delegation from the US House of Representatives, hailing the “unwavering” support, according to her, of the United States. in Taiwan against China.
American “strategic ambiguity”
In August 2022, following a visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy’s predecessor, China conducted unprecedented military maneuvers around the island for several days. In the name of its “one China” principle, no country is supposed to maintain official ties with China and Taipei at the same time. Only 13 states still recognize Taiwan, including Belize and Guatemala, Latin American countries that Tsai Ing-wen visited during his tour to cement the relationship with his few official allies, after a first stop in New York.
But the United States has long maintained a “strategic ambiguity” on the Taiwan question. Washington, the American capital, has recognized Beijing, the Chinese capital, since 1979, while remaining Taiwan’s most powerful ally as well as its main arms supplier. Support for the island is one of the few points of consensus between the two parties in Congress, the American parliament. Under Tsai Ing-wen’s tenure, Taiwan moved closer to the United States.
These new military developments in the region come the day after a state visit to China by French President Emmanuel Macron. During this, the question of Taiwan was raised with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “The conversation was dense and frank” on this subject, indicated the Presidency of the Republic. The Chinese leader, for his part, assured the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Thursday that “anyone who thinks that China will compromise on Taiwan is delusional”.