Saturday 6 August 2022 03:22 PM China practises INVADING Taiwan as it conducts sea and air exercises around ... trends now
China simulated an invasion of Taiwan today after dozens of jets and warships crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, according to the island's Ministry of Defence.
The highly aggressive display of intimidation featuring some 20 Chinese aircraft and 14 ships comes days after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei that infuriated Beijing.
Taiwan's armed forces issued an alert, dispatched air and naval patrols around the island, and activated land-based missile systems in response to the Chinese exercises, the ministry said.
The ministry said that zones declared by China as no-go areas during the exercises for other ships and aircraft had 'seriously damaged the peace' in what was effectively a blockade of the island - an act of war by international law.
The Taiwanese military, finding itself in a situation similar to Ukraine in February, emphasised that it did not wish to poke the dragon, but would defend itself if attacked.
The median line has been an unofficial border separating the two warring sides that was drawn by a US general in 1955
China's Ministry of Defence said in a statement Saturday that it had carried out military exercises as planned in the sea and airspaces to the north, southwest, and east of Taiwan, with a focus on 'testing the capabilities' of its land strike and sea assault systems.
A French-built Mirage 2000 fighter jet takes off at an airbase in Hsinchu, Taiwan during military alerts as Chinese jets crossed the median line
A Chinese military plane flew on training exercises with the Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), Friday
A PLA serviceman looks through binoculars at Taiwanese frigate Lan Yang cruising the Straits of Taiwan amid a tense stand-off
The highly aggressive display of intimidation comes days after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (pictured in the poster) visit to Taipei that infuriated Beijing
China's Ministry of Defence said in a statement Saturday that it had carried out military exercises as planned in the sea and airspaces to the north, southwest, and east of Taiwan, with a focus on 'testing the capabilities' of its land strike and sea assault systems. Some of the exercises clearly violated Taiwanese sovereign territory
China launched live-fire military drills following Pelosi's trip to Taiwan earlier this week, saying it violated the 'one-China' policy. China sees the island as a breakaway province to be annexed by force if necessary, and considers visits to Taiwan by foreign officials as recognizing its sovereignty.
Taiwan's army also said it detected four unmanned aerial vehicles flying in the vicinity of the offshore county of Kinmen on Friday night and fired warning flares in response.
The four drones, which Taiwan believed were Chinese, were spotted over waters around the Kinmen island group and the nearby Lieyu Island and Beiding islet, according to Taiwan's Kinmen Defense Command.
Kinmen, also known as Quemoy, is a group of islands only 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) east of the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province in the Taiwan Strait, which divides the two sides that split amid civil war in 1949.
'Our government & military are closely monitoring China's military exercises & information warfare operations, ready to respond as necessary,' Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said in a tweet.
'I call on the international community to support democratic Taiwan & halt any escalation of the regional security situation,' she added.
The deputy head of Taiwan defence ministry's research and development unit was found dead on Saturday morning in a hotel room. Pictured: Tien Kung II
