The Chinese military is conducting military exercises around Taiwan, Beijing state television reported on Thursday. These maneuvers must be performed by noon on Sunday (7) local time. Taiwanese officials said China launched “multiple” ballistic missiles during military exercises.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, called China’s military maneuvers irresponsible and warned that the situation was in danger of spiraling out of control.
“I don’t think what China did here is responsible,” Sullivan said in an interview with National Public Radio.
Beijing held military exercises around Taiwan on Wednesday in response to Pelosi’s visit to the independent and democratic island that China considers part of its territory.
“Whenever a soldier participates in a series of activities involving missile tests, live-fire exercises, or the possibility of sky-crossing warplanes and seagoing ships, the possibility of some kind of incident (that happens)” Sullivan said, urging Beijing to ease tensions in the Taiwan Strait. real,” he said.
“What we expect is that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) will act responsibly and avoid tensions in the air or at sea that could lead to miscalculations,” he said.
The trip was seen as a provocation
Pelosi, who is second in line for her presidential successor, traveled to Taiwan on Tuesday, defying threats from Beijing, who saw the visit as a major provocation.
If her trip to this territory China claims took less than 24 hours, Pelosi, the highest US elected official to visit Taipei in 25 years, unleashed Beijing’s anger.
Image: Hector Retamal/AFP
China immediately reacted and announced that it would hold “necessary and fair” military exercises in the waters off the coast of Taiwan, one of the world’s busiest waterways.
Following Pelosi’s departure, Taiwan’s defense minister announced that 27 Chinese warplanes had entered the island’s air defense zone.
In the past two years Beijing has increased the number of military attacks on Taiwan’s defensive zone, an area larger than the island’s airspace, but this remains a relatively rare event.
preparation for war
The Taiwanese military said on Thursday it was “preparing for war without seeking war” as China launched the largest military maneuvers in history around the island.
European Union Foreign Minister Josep Borrell on Thursday denounced China’s “aggressive” military maneuvers and said there was “no reason” to use Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan as “an excuse”.
“It’s normal for parliamentarians from our countries to travel internationally,” he said on Twitter on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting.
Image: Hector Retamal/AFP
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) warned on Thursday that tensions around the Taiwan Strait “could lead to errors of judgment, serious conflict, conflict and unpredictable consequences for major powers”.
The foreign ministers of the ASEAN member states issued a statement following a meeting in Phnom Penh, where the host country Cambodia called for a reduction in tensions around Taiwan.
(With information from AFP)
source: Noticias
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