A photo made available by Taiwan Ministry of National Defense shows a Chinese Shenyang J-16 fighter during a 2021 incursion into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. File Photo by Taiwan Ministry of National Defense/EPA-EFE
Aug. 19 (UPI) — Chinese military officials announced Saturday they have launched joint air and sea patrols and military exercises around the island of Taiwan in wake of Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te’s stopover in the United States.
Senior Col. Shi Yi, the spokesman of the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement to state-run media the drills are meant as “a severe warning” for “separatists that have stepped up their collusion with foreign forces to provoke the Chinese mainland.”
Lai, the front-running Democratic Progressive Party candidate for president in May elections, arrived in New York a week ago while on his way to Paraguay in what he called a “stopover,” defying Chinese opposition to “any form of official interaction” between the United States and island, which Beijing regards as a breakaway province.
China said Lai’s visit was a violation of the one-China principle that “gravely undermines” its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 42 PLA aircraft between 6 a.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday, including early warning and control aircraft, military transport aircraft and fighter jets.
“The [Republic of China] Armed Forces are closely monitoring the situation with our ISR system and have deployed CAP aircraft, naval vessels, and land-based missile systems in response,” the ministry said in a statement.
Taiwanese officials said the drills are meant to intimidate voters into voting against Lai, whom China has denounced as a “separatist troublemaker.”
“[Beijing] has made it clear it wants to shape Taiwan’s coming national election,” Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu wrote in a post on the social media platform X on Saturday. “Well, it’s up to our citizens to decide, not the bully next door. Look, China should hold its own elections; I’m sure its people would be thrilled.”
