Beijing launches military drills near Taiwan

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‘Stern warning’: Beijing launches military drills near Taiwan following meeting between President and US Speaker

Beijing has responded to a controversial meeting between Taiwan’s President and the United States House Speaker by launching a series of military drills near the self-governing island.
Joseph Huitson

April 9, 2023

China has launched a series of military drills around Taiwan following a meeting between its President and the United States House Speaker.

Tsai Ing-wen met with Kevin McCarthy, the third most powerful figure in the US government, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California on Wednesday.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry has since claimed upwards of 71 aircrafts had flown crossed over the Strait late on Saturday afternoon.

China ends military drills around Taiwan
8 hours ago

China has ended three days of military drills around Taiwan in response to the Taiwanese President’s trip to the United States.

In a statement, China’s military said they had tested integrated capabilities, practised precision strikes, and blockaded the island.

Taiwanese officials say 70 Chinese military aircraft and 11 vessels were involved in the drills.

They also claim 35 of the detected aircraft crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait – entering Taiwan’s air defence identification zone.

China's military declared it's "ready to fight" after wrapping up three days of combat drills simulating a blockade to "seal off" Taiwan.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said on Monday it tracked a record 91 Chinese fighter jets in the final day of the exercises, with dozens of warplanes crossing over the sensitive maritime median line of the Taiwan Strait.

The drills involved Su-30 and J-11 fighters, navy destroyers and missile speedboats, practicing to "encircle" Taiwan. China said it was simulating attacks on key targets, with the People's Liberation Army even releasing an animation of what hitting those targets would look like.

A voice recording obtained by ABC News captures the moment of a standoff between a Taiwanese ship and Chinese ship. The Taiwanese officers are heard telling the PLA Xuzhou: "Your actions have seriously undermined the region's peace, stability and security and deliberately provoked trouble, which have intensified security risk in the Taiwan Strait. Please leave immediately. If you insist on trespassing into our 24 nm contiguous zone, I will be forced to expel you."

China's Xuzhou responds, "The 24 nm contiguous zone doesn't exist. Taiwan is an integral part of China. Those pursuing Taiwan independence are the ones undermining peace and stability across the Strait."

China also claimed a U.S. Navy ship "illegally intruded" into waters it claims as its own, about 800 miles south of Taiwan. The USS Milius is a guided missile destroyer, it was carrying out a freedom of navigation patrol in the Spratly Islands, in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

Former Taiwanese defence minister Andrew Yang told ABC News that he thought this month's drills were actually larger in scale, because of the use of China's Shandong aircraft carrier.

On the streets of Taipei, ABC News spoke to a range of Taiwanese who had mixed views towards the Chinese threat, but many of them said it was easier "not to think about" whether there could be an invasion.

Brian Pien, who works in IT recruitment, said, "They made it clear they're gonna do something. We don't know when that's going to happen, we just hope we're going to be safe."

Twenty-six-year-old Becky Chen said, "I feel ever since Nancy Pelosi visited us the tension has been more intense than ever."

J.C. Cheng, however, said the threat of China is something "us Taiwanese grow up with," but admitted it's something he does worry about.

Wu Rwei-Ren, associate research fellow at Academia Sinica, said "Taiwan on the surface, looks quiet and peaceful, and it seems like everything is business as usual, but in people's conscience, something fundamentally different has occurred."

"The economy is good. We have a vibrant democracy, we have human rights and freedom," he went on to say, "And yet, on the other hand, we are facing probably one of the most dangerous times in history."