The Chinese army announced that it carried out more exercises near Taiwan this Monday, at a time when a US Congressional delegation was visiting the island whose sovereignty is claimed by China and met with President Tsai Ing-wen, who reiterated the will. of your government to maintain stability.
The five US lawmakers, led by Senator Ed Markey, arrived in Taipei on Sunday night for an unannounced visit. This is the second high-level group from the US Congress to land on the island after the delegation led by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, at the beginning of the month, which unleashed several days of war games by China. .
The Chinese military unit responsible for the area adjacent to Taiwan, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Operations Command, said it had organized joint combat readiness patrols and combat exercises at sea and in space on Monday. air around Taiwan.
The exercises are “a solemn deterrent against the United States and Taiwan for continuing their political trickery and undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” added command spokesman Shi Yi.
The Chinese Defense Ministry said in a separate statement that the trip by US lawmakers violates China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and “fully exposes the true face of the United States as a destroyer and destroyer of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.” .
“The PLA will continue to train and prepare for war, resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and resolutely will crush any form of separatism for ‘Taiwan independence’ and foreign interference,” the spokesman said. Ministry of Defense, Wu Qian, this morning in a summary published in the official Chinese newspaper Global Times.
The command said the exercises took place near the Taiwanese islands of Penghu, situated in the strait, where there is a large air base, and showed videos of the islands being occupied by Chinese Air Force aircraft.
In her meeting with the US delegation, the President of Taiwan said that the Chinese military exercises had greatly affected regional peace and stability.
“We are committed to close cooperation with our international allies to closely monitor the military situation,” Tsain Ing-wen said in a video made available by the presidential office. “At the same time, we are doing everything we can to make the world understand that Taiwan is determined to safeguard stability and the state in which in the Taiwan Strait.”
Senator Ed Markey told Tsai Ing-wen that the United States has a “moral obligation” to do everything to prevent unnecessary conflict. “Taiwan has shown incredible restraint and discernment during these challenging times,” he added.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said 15 Chinese planes crossed the line that divides the strait in half and serves as an unofficial division between the two countries, condemning these new Chinese military exercises and that the country that faces them “calmly”.
Unlike Nancy Pelosi’s visit, this new visit by a US Congressional delegation was handled discreetly by the Taiwan Government, which did not even broadcast the meeting with the President on social media as is customary in high-profile foreign political visits. .
It was only when the US delegation left the country, on Monday afternoon in Taiwan, that the official images of the meeting were released.
Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang said he would not be intimidated by the Chinese response to visits from foreign friends.
“We cannot be content with doing nothing because we have an evil neighbor, and not daring to let friends and visitors come,” he told reporters.
