The tension is not yet falling in Taiwan. China continued, Saturday August 6, its most important exercises ever organized around the island. They must last until Sunday noon (6 a.m. in Paris) and are presented as a one-to-one training session. “blockade” of the island.
The visit of Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the United States House of Representatives, earlier this week to Taiwan, which China considers an integral part of its territory, provoked the ire of Beijing and led to military exercises unprecedented Chinese. Taiwan has accused the Chinese military of faking an attack on the island, with China stepping up its retaliation after the US number three visited Taipei.
Taiwanese authorities announced on Saturday that they had detected “multiple” Chinese planes and ships in the Taiwan Strait between the island and mainland China. “Some of them crossed the middle line” which bisects the strait and “are considered to be carrying out a mock attack on the main island of Taiwan”, announced the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense. The Taiwanese military issued a warning and deployed aerial reconnaissance air patrols, as well as ships to monitor the situation.
The Chinese army announced that it had deployed fighters, bombers and numerous destroyers and escort boats the day before to participate in these maneuvers carried out ” day and night “, she pointed out. Chinese television broadcast during the night from Friday to Saturday the video of an air force pilot filming, from his cockpit, the coast and the mountains of Taiwan. These images are meant to demonstrate Beijing’s ability to get very close to the island’s shores.
Watch: #China’s military drills around Taiwan island continues. https://t.co/5ecBcZ1V8Z
For the first time, missiles flew over Taiwan during these military exercises, said Chinese state television CCTV. Neither the Chinese army nor the Taiwanese army, however, confirmed this information.
On the Taipei side, the authorities denounced the actions of their “malicious neighbor” and announced that 68 aircraft and 13 Chinese military ships crossed the border on Friday. ” median line “. Drawn unilaterally by the United States during the Cold War, this line has never been recognized by Beijing.
Tensions at their highest for almost thirty years
M’s visit to Taiwanme Pelosi, because Washington had pledged not to have official relations with the island territory claimed by China. In response, Chinese diplomacy announced on Friday evening the “suspension” of several cooperations with the United States, in particular in terms of justice, the fight against drugs, but also on climate change. The two countries, the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in absolute terms, had nevertheless signed a surprise agreement on the climate at the COP26 summit in Glasgow last year.
During the previous crisis in the Taiwan Strait (1995-1996), under Bill Clinton, the US Navy had several warships pass through the strait and deployed aircraft carriers not far from the island. This time, “the US government is careful to avoid escalation, which it does not want”says Lonnie Henley, a former American intelligence officer and professor at the Elliott School of International Studies in Washington.
Condemned maneuvers
The scale of these exercises has drawn condemnation from the G7 countries, the United States and their allies. The White House summoned Chinese Ambassador Qin Gang to slam alleged behavior “irresponsible”.
Beijing’s decision to suspend climate dialogue with Washington has drawn another wave of criticism. The US executive spokesman for national security affairs, John Kirby, on Friday blasted him for a decision “fundamentally irresponsible”. “China is not only punishing the United States, it is punishing the whole world”he added.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed his dismay. For him, “it is impossible to solve the most pressing problems in the world without effective dialogue and cooperation between the two countries”said his spokesperson.
The deterioration in Beijing-Washington relations could be long-lasting, experts note. “The US-China relationship is currently in a very bad state”told Agence France Presss Bonnie Glaser, China specialist at the German Marshall Fund of the United States research center in Washington.
She quotes as “particularly worrying” the suspension of cooperation agreements crucial for the stability of the region, such as the one on maritime military cooperation aimed precisely at preserving the escalation. For meme Glaser, the United States has no doubt ” underestimated “ the anger of Chinese public opinion. Most analysts agree, however, that despite these military exercises, Beijing does not want an armed confrontation for the time being.