The leadership in Beijing believes that peace in the Taiwan Strait and the island’s independence are incompatible. “Taiwan independence and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are mutually exclusive,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Monday.
China is currently conducting military maneuvers off Taiwan’s coast. According to its own statements, the Chinese army practiced “sealing off” the island on Monday. Several dozen military aircraft are in use off Taiwan to simulate an “air blockade” of the island, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. The US also demonstrated military strength in the South China Sea, with a US destroyer conducting a sortie around China-claimed Mischief Reef.
Japan is watching closely
Japan has mobilized several fighter jets in recent days. Japanese forces have been monitoring the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong and several other Chinese naval vessels in the area south of Japan’s Miyako Islands since Friday, the Japanese General Staff said on Monday. “Two escorts were sent” for this purpose, it said.
Since the political split between mainland China and Taiwan in 1949, Beijing has viewed the island as a breakaway territory that it intends to reunite with the mainland, if necessary using military force.
Tensions over the Taiwan issue were last fueled by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to the United States. Tsai met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the third most senior representative in the United States, in California on Wednesday. (AFP)
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