Less than 24 hours had passed since the president of the lower house of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi, left Taiwan, when China began the largest military exercises in its history. The maneuvers will continue until Sunday and were condemned both by the island and by the United States and the European Union.
The exercises of the Asian giant’s Army – which included the firing of long-range artillery and the test of ballistic missiles – caused the maritime and air closure in several areas around Taiwan. One of the maneuvers even took place just 20 kilometers from the coast of Kaohsiung, the most important city in the south of the island.
Source: (Euronews)
One of the spokespersons for the Chinese Foreign Ministry asserted that these military actions by her country were necessary and fair since, according to her vision, They will serve as a warning “to the provocateurs”, that is, to the inhabitants of Taiwan who are committed to formal independence and to “external forces that interfere in China’s internal affairs”, that is, the United States.
reactions
The government of Taiwan affirms that it closely monitors Chinese military maneuvers and announced that its Army is preparing to face a conflict, although it does not seek to generate it. “The Ministry of National Defense maintains that it will maintain the principle of preparing for war without seeking war, with the attitude of not escalating the conflict or causing disputes,” the authorities said in a statement.
Secondly, Taipei He condemned Beijing’s actions because “they are equivalent to an air and sea blockade” of the island. “They overlap with our territorial waters and airspace, and seriously violate our sovereignty,” said Yu Chien-chang, a senior official with Taiwan’s Defense Ministry.
Consequently, the ships that arrive or leave Taiwanese territory will have to avoid the military exercise zones, while hundreds of flights have already had to modify their route for this very reason. Thus, Taiwan he described these exercises as irresponsible and illegitimate.
Condemnations of China’s maneuvers also came from the other side of the world. “There is no justification for using a visit as a pretext for aggressive military activity in the Strait of Taiwan”, pointed out the European Union and the G7, while calling on the parties to remain calm.
For Beijing, however, it was not an insignificant visit. Therefore, Zhang Ming, the spokesman for the Chinese mission to the European Union, replied that the United States should be held accountable for its actions. “Taiwan it is part of Chinese territory and meddling in its affairs is a violation of its sovereignty,” he asserted, warning: “Any action that violates China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will be met with a response.”
Taiwan it is not a semi-autonomous region of China, as is the case with Hong Kong or Macao, but functions as a de facto independent state. However, Beijing claims its sovereignty and does not abandon its intentions to reunify the island with the rest of the country.