China conducted assault drills near Taiwan on Tuesday, with warships and fighter jets exercising off the southwest and southeast coasts of the island in response to “foreign interference” and “provocations,” according to the country’s armed services.
Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, has complained about recurrent People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drills in the area in recent years as part of a pressure campaign to force the island to acknowledge Chinese sovereignty.
The PLA’s Eastern Theater Command stated in a terse statement that warships, anti-submarine planes, and fighter jets had been despatched near Taiwan to conduct “joint fire assault and other rehearsals employing actual troops.” It didn’t go into much detail.
“The nation’s military has a comprehensive grasp and has made a full evaluation of the situation in the Taiwan Strait region, as well as related events at sea and in the air, and is prepared for various responses,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a short, understated comment.
The United States and Taiwan have recently “repeatedly collaborated in provocation and sent major erroneous signals, gravely trespassing on China’s sovereignty and severely damaging peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” according to the PLA statement.
“The current security situation across the Taiwan Strait necessitates this exercise, as does the necessity to protect national sovereignty. It’s a solemn response to Taiwan independence forces’ exterior intervention and provocations.”
Many Chinese maneuvers take conducted near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands at the head of the South China Sea, as well as around the Bashi Channel off southern Taiwan that leads to the Pacific, according to the statement.
It was unclear what sparked the surge of Chinese military action, while the US approved a fresh arms sale package to Taiwan earlier this month, including an artillery system worth up to $750 million.
