42 Chinese aircraft crossed the center line of the Taiwan Strait on Saturday. It is happening while China is holding military exercises.
Eight Chinese ships also crossed the center line on Saturday morning. The ministry says so in a statement.
– The exercises are a serious warning against Taiwan’s separatist forces. They are cooperating with external forces, they say in the statement.
China announced the military exercises on the night of Saturday Norwegian time. The exercises are scheduled to last from Saturday to Monday, despite Taiwan’s displeasure.
– China will hold exercises in the Taiwan Strait and north, south and east of Taiwan “as planned”. The Chinese army reports this in a statement on Saturday.
Practicing encirclement
China’s state television channel CCTV reports that the Chinese military is rehearsing an “encirclement” of Taiwan.
– The task force organizes patrols and advances around Taiwan. The aim is to shape an all-round encirclement and deterrence position, writes CCTV on Saturday.
This happens after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen met US Congressman Kevin McCarthy in California in the US on Wednesday. China condemned the meeting, but Tsai promises she will continue cooperation with the US and “other like-minded countries”.
Continuing US cooperation
– In recent years, we have faced China’s continued authoritarian expansionism, says Tsai in a statement on Saturday.
– We will continue to work with the US and other like-minded countries to defend our freedom, our democracy and our values, she says.
The president has condemned the Chinese military drills, but Taiwan’s defense ministry says it should respond calmly, rationally and with a serious attitude. They neither want to escalate the conflict nor cause further unrest, says a statement.
Taiwan is in practice fully self-governing, but China still insists that the island be subject to Chinese authorities and has threatened to invade it if Taiwan formally declares independence.
/s3/static.nrc.nl/inbeeld/files/2023/04/0804inbmerlin1.jpg "The Resurgence of Black Lung: A Growing Health Crisis in American Coal Mining Communities")