The Taiwanese military carried out new maneuvers with real ammunition after China on Thursday, which continued to threaten to take control of the island, finished its largest exercises in the region.
Lou Woei-jye, spokesperson for Taiwan Eighth Corps, told AFP that his forces fired bullets and cartridges as part of a defense exercise Thursday morning.
The exercise, held in Pingtung, the southernmost region of the island, lasted an hour. A similar action took place in the same place on Tuesday.
China has reacted strongly to the Taiwan trip of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, a senior US official who has visited the self-governing island for decades.
The Chinese military responded with several days of naval and air exercises around Taiwan, raising tensions to their highest level in years.
Taiwan has accused China of using Pelosi’s visit as an excuse to train on a possible invasion of the island.
The island’s military downplayed the importance of its maneuvers and said the exercises were scheduled long before the exercises organized by China.
“We have two goals with the maneuvers: first, to confirm the proper conditions and maintenance of the gunners. Second, to verify last year’s results,” Lou said.
Taiwan regularly conducts military exercises to train the defense against the Chinese invasion.
On Thursday, the island’s military said it had detected 21 Chinese aircraft and six ships in the Taiwan Strait, without specifying whether they were operating.
Of these, 11 aircraft crossed the middle line, an unofficial border between China and Taiwan that Beijing does not recognize.
– War preparations –
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the troops during a visit to Air Force headquarters on Thursday.
“China’s military threat has not diminished,” he said in a statement posted on Facebook.
We will not escalate conflict or provoke disagreements, but we will resolutely defend our sovereignty and national security, and democracy and freedom on the front lines.”
Thursday’s exercise comes after China announced the end of its maneuvers as the country’s forces announced that they had “successfully completed various missions” in the Taiwan Strait.
In the same announcement, China said it would “continue military training and prepare them for war”.
In a white paper published Wednesday by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese State Council, the authors say Beijing “will not renounce the use of force” and reserves the “option to take all necessary measures”.
“We are ready to create ample space for peaceful reunification, but by no means will we leave room for separatist activity,” the white paper states. Said.
The previous edition of the Taiwan White Paper was published by China in 2000.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke on Thursday against Beijing’s proposed “one country, two systems” model for the island.
“Every statement by China (between China and Taiwan) is absolutely against the status quo and its reality,” said ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou.
“China (…) is using Nancy Pelosi’s visit as an excuse to overturn the status quo, seizing the opportunity and trying to create a new normal to intimidate the Taiwanese people.
At the same time, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese Communist Party said on Thursday that “(Taipei’s) rebel actions are a slap in the face and cannot stop the historic trend of reunification with mainland China.”
In Washington, Nancy Pelosi defended her visit on Wednesday. She said she was “very proud” of the delegation and that China was using its presence as an “excuse” to launch military exercises.
“We will not allow China to isolate Taiwan,” Pelosi said.
After the Chinese military announced the end of its maneuvers, the Taiwanese military said it would “adjust how we deploy our forces … without lowering our guard”.
Since the 1990s, the island has transitioned from an autocracy to a vibrant democracy and has developed a Taiwanese identity of its own.
Relations between the two parties have deteriorated since 2016, when the Democratic Progressive Party’s current president, Tsai Ing-wen, who does not consider Taiwan a part of China, took power.
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© Agence France-Press
source: Noticias
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