Global Courant 2023-04-11 07:02:05
Tsai Ing-wen says Beijing’s military exercises pose a risk to stability as authorities say eight PLA ships remain around the island.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has condemned China for its three-day military exercises around the self-governed island. He said they were irresponsible and a threat to regional stability.
Beijing ended its war games, which simulated attacks against the territory of 23 million people, on April 10, although Taiwan’s national defense ministry said on Tuesday morning eight Chinese ships continued to operate “in the waters around Taiwan.”
The exercises began after Tsai returned home from a visit to Central America, where she made two US stops and a high-profile meeting with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy.
Tsai, portrayed as a “separatist” by China, said visits to friendly countries were a “long-term practice” and expected by the people of Taiwan.
“China is using this to launch military exercises, causing instability in Taiwan and the region. This is not a responsible attitude for a major country in the region,” she wrote on her Facebook page late Monday night.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of China and does not rule out the use of force to take control of the island.
The latest exercises simulated attacks on Taiwan and, according to a state media report, dozens of aircraft had practiced an “air blockade”.
The exercise “extensively tested the integrated joint combat capability of multiple military branches under actual combat conditions,” China’s People’s Liberation Army Eastern Command said in a statement.
The exercises did not appear to be on the same scale as the military activities that followed then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last August, but also drew a rebuke from Japan.
The southernmost islands are close to Taiwan and it hosts a major US air base on Okinawa.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada described the exercises as “intimidating training” to seize sea and air control around the island, the Reuters news agency reported. China appeared to have shown an “uncompromising attitude” to Taiwanese issues during the exercises, Hamada added.
91 PLA aircraft and 12 PLAN ships around Taiwan were detected today at 6 am (UTC+8). ROC forces have been monitoring the situation and have ordered CAP aircraft, naval vessels and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities. pic.twitter.com/4OdCJgTGEc
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC (@MoNDefense) April 11, 2023
Beijing has been mounting pressure on Taiwan since Tsai was first elected president in 2016.
Her visit to Central America included trips to Guatemala and Belize, Taipei’s remaining formal allies in the region after Honduras announced its move to Beijing last month.
Tsai, who says it is up to the Taiwanese people to decide their future, has previously accused Beijing of “dollar diplomacy.”
Despite this, the island’s government maintains strong informal ties with many governments and has welcomed a flood of legislators from countries such as the US, UK and the Czech Republic.
In 2021, it opened a de facto embassy in Lithuania, the first in Europe in 18 years, drawing the ire of Beijing.
In her Facebook post, Tsai thanked the Taiwanese military for defending the island.
The Ministry of National Defense said it would continue to “closely monitor” Chinese navy movements around the island.
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