Taiwan officials said that Chinese planes and warships have been tested An attack on the island on Saturday, as part of Beijing’s response To visit US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has also halted talks with Washington on issues including defense and climate change.
Pelosi’s brief visit this week to the self-governing island that China considers its territory has angered Beijing and Unprecedented military exercises around Taiwan, including the launch of ballistic missiles at the capital, Taipei.
United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken accused China of taking “irresponsible measures” By cutting off key channels of communication with Washington, he said his actions on Taiwan show a divergence from prioritizing a peaceful solution toward the use of force.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said Several Chinese ships and aircraft conducted missions in the Taiwan Strait on SaturdaySome crossed the center line, an unofficial barrier separating the two sides, in what the Taiwanese military described as a simulated attack on the island.
The ministry later said that Taiwan had sent planes to warn 20 Chinese planes, including them 14 who crossed the midfield. In a statement, the ministry said it had also spotted 14 Chinese military ships carrying out activities around the Taiwan Strait.
China’s Eastern Theater Command said it continued to conduct joint naval and air exercises in north, southwest and east Taiwan. He said his goal was Test the system’s land attack and naval assault capabilities.
The Chinese exercises, stationed at six locations across the island, began on Thursday and will continue until noon on Sunday.
A person familiar with security planning said Chinese warships and aircraft continued to “press” the middle line of the Taiwan Strait on Saturday afternoon. The person added that off the eastern coast of Taiwan and near the Japanese islands, Chinese warships and drones simulated attacks on US and Japanese warships.
army Taiwan issued a warning while deploying patrol forces Air reconnaissance and ships to monitor and prepare for ground-based missiles.
The island’s Defense Ministry released a photo of a Taiwanese sailor on a frigate looking at a nearby Chinese warship off Taiwan’s east coast. “The pictures were definitely not taken!”said the caption.
He also said he launched flares Friday night to warn seven drones flying over the Kinmen Islands and unidentified aircraft flying over the Matsu Islands. Both groups of islands are close to the coast of China.
He said, “Chinese military exercises unilaterally changed the current situation in the region and Severely damaged peace across the Taiwan StraitTaiwan’s Defense Ministry said.
Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday in the highest-level visit of a US official to the island in decades, despite Chinese warnings. Shortly after its delegation left Japan on Friday, the last leg of its week-long Asia tour, China announced that it would suspend dialogue with the United States in a number of areas.
Speaking during a visit to the Philippines, Blinken said the United States was listening to allies’ concerns about what he described as China’s dangerous and destabilizing actions around Taiwan, but Washington would stand firm in its handling of the situation and try to avoid escalation. .
He said China’s suspension of bilateral dialogue in eight major areas is a measure that will punish the world.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference on Friday that Blinken is spreading “disinformation,” adding: “We would like to send a warning to the United States: Don’t act rashly, don’t create a big crisis“.
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