![]() ![]() She said her presence made it 'unequivocally clear' that the United States would 'not abandon' a democratic ally like Taiwan.Ĭhinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Pelosi's visit to Taiwan a 'manic, irresponsible and highly irrational' act, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The dramatic escalation in tensions was sparked by Pelosi's visit earlier this week as she became the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years. Nearly half the world's ships passed through the narrow Taiwan Strait - which separates the island from the Chinese mainland - in the first seven months of this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The war games threaten major disruption to one of the world's busiest shipping lanes which runs through the Taiwan strait, and have forced the island to divert huge amounts of air traffic that it relies upon to get crucial supplies - including food. 'It means that our battle plan has been made clear to the US and the Taiwan authorities, and we are confident enough to inform them of the consequences of further provocation in this way.' 'In the event of a future military conflict, it is likely that the operational plans currently being rehearsed will be directly translated into combat operations,' he added. Song Zhongping, a 'military expert' quoted by the Times, said the 'comprehensive and highly targeted' operations showed 'the determination of resolving Taiwan question once and for all'. Lu Shaye, China's diplomat to France, today accused Taiwan of spreading 'propaganda' among people that has made people oppose 'reunification' - though the Communists have never actually ruled Taiwan - and said ominously that 're-education' will be necessary after the territory is conquered.Ĭhina's state-run Global Times newspaper meanwhile said the drill exclusion zones have been drawn up in such a way as to blockade all the island's main ports, which would likely be the battle plan if Beijing were to invade. Xi has made the so-called 'reunification' of Taiwan with China his hoped-for legacy as he aims to become the country's greatest leader since Mao, despite the fact that the Communists have never ruled the island. Tsai Ing-wen, the Taiwanese president, also welcomed the move.īut it came at a bad time for Xi, as he tries to project an image of strength ahead of Party Congress this autumn where he is expected to be given an historic third term in power which would mark the start of autocratic rule. Pelosi - a long-time critic of China's human rights record and anti-democratic rulers - justified the visit by saying it showed America's continuing support for its ally. She is the most-senior politician to visit since Newt Gingrich in 1997, but her trip came shortly after a Senate delegation visit drew no response. Xi Jinping announced the exercises using US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to the island - which took place from Tuesday and Wednesday - as an excuse. China's two aircraft carriers are also holding position nearby.Īmerican forces - including the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier which is forward-deployed with the Pacific Fleet - are thought to be lurking nearby, while missile-tracking spy planes have been sent to watch over the drills. The drills are due to last until Sunday, and are due to including long-range bombers and hypersonic missiles. Taiwan says China fired a total of 11 ballistic missiles into waters off its south-western and north-eastern coasts today, in several salvos that began around 2pm local time and lasted until 4pm.īeijing also scrambled fighter jets and sent some of its most up-to-date warships to surround the island, in what state media said is a rehearsal for an invasion. ![]() ![]() China has fired ballistic missiles at its neighbour before, but this is the first time they have landed in the Japanese zone. The island of Yonaguni, which belongs to Japan, sits around 70 miles off Taiwan's eastern coast and Japan's 'economic zone' - waters in which it has special rights - covers about half the distance between the two. Chinese missiles fired towards Taiwan have landed in Japanese waters, Tokyo says, as Beijing ignored warnings that a miscalculation could spark war to hold its largest-ever live-fire drills around the island.įive out of nine ballistic missiles launched by China landed in Japan's 'exclusive economic zone', the country's defence minister said today, adding that he had lodged a protest with Beijing. ![]()
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