The Chinese response. China says it conducted military exercises on Sunday near Taiwan, which it claims, in response to “provocations” and “collusion” between the United States and authorities on the island. The number of devices mobilized was not specified, nor the exact location of these maneuvers. China considers Taiwan, with a population of 24 million, to be one of its provinces, which it has yet to successfully reunify with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
She sees with dissatisfaction the rapprochement at work in recent years between the Taiwanese authorities and the United States, which has provided the island with military support against Beijing for several decades.
“A Firm Response”
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “conducted multi-service joint combat readiness patrols and joint strike drills in the sea and air space around the island of Taiwan,” it said. Shi Yi, spokesperson for the Eastern Theater of Operations. “This is a firm response to the growing collusion between the United States and the Taiwanese authorities and their provocations,” he said in a statement.
The PLA also released the photos of a bomber, a warship and an aerial landscape showing, from an airplane cockpit, what is said to be a mountain range in Taiwan. This last shot intends to emphasize that the device approached relatively close to the Taiwanese coast. “This behavior of the Chinese Communist Party once again highlights its mentality, which is to use force to settle disputes and undermine regional peace and stability,” responded the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense.
“Cooperation between Taiwan and the United States contributes to freedom, openness, peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
$10 billion in military aid and arms sales to Taiwan
The rapprochement between the island and Washington, begun under former US President Donald Trump, has contributed to straining Sino-US relations. The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed its “firm opposition” on Saturday after the adoption of an American defense law, the “National Defense Authorization Act”, which notably authorizes 10 billion dollars in military aid and sales of weapons. weapons in Taiwan. In August, the PLA conducted major military exercises around Taiwan, an unprecedented show of force, in retaliation for a visit to the island by Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
Chinese diplomacy considered this gesture as a provocation, because the United States officially committed to recognizing the communist government in Beijing as the sole legitimate representative of China. The Chinese authorities favor “peaceful reunification” with the island but have never renounced the use of force to conquer it, especially if it declares its independence.