China “There is no view that Japan’s EEZ is included in the military exercise area”

On the 4th, the Chinese military began a large-scale exercise to surround Taiwan and launched ballistic missiles toward the waters surrounding Taiwan.

Some of the ballistic missiles fell inside Japan's EEZ = exclusive economic zone, but the Chinese side said, ``The two countries have not demarcated boundaries in the relevant waters, and the exercise area includes Japan's EEZ. does not exist,” he claims.

On the 4th, the Chinese military began "important military exercises" in a total of six sea areas and airspace surrounding Taiwan, launching multiple missiles toward the eastern waters of Taiwan and launching long-distance missiles toward the Taiwan Strait. He announced that he had conducted live-fire exercises at a distance.

Regarding this, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense announced that the Chinese military launched 11 ballistic missiles on the 4th toward the waters around the northern, southern and eastern parts of Taiwan.

The Japanese government protested to the Chinese side that five of the ballistic missiles launched are presumed to have fallen inside Japan's EEZ.

Although there has been no official response from the Chinese government to Japan's protests so far, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that the Japanese side expressed concern that the exercise area included Japan's EEZ. At a press conference on the 4th, the official argued that "the two countries have not demarcated a boundary in the relevant waters, and there is no view that the exercise area includes Japan's EEZ."

A military expert on state-run China Central Television, meanwhile, said some ballistic missiles flew over Taiwan for the first time.

The exercise continues until the 7th, and the situation around Taiwan continues to be tense.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen "Exercises destroy the status quo in the Taiwan Strait"

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen announced a discourse in a video on the evening of the 4th regarding large-scale military exercises by China.

"The exercises not only subvert the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and violate our sovereignty, but also create a high level of tension in the Indo-Pacific region, posing an unprecedented threat to maritime and air security and international trade," Tsai said. , urged China to exercise self-restraint.

"We will not provoke conflict, but we will firmly defend sovereignty and security, and firmly defend the line of defense of democracy and freedom. We will remain calm and do not act rashly, avoid provocation with reason, but withdraw." Absolutely not,” he stresses.

He added, "We call on the international community to support democratic Taiwan and jointly stop unilateral and irrational military actions." "We will do our best to maintain the status quo on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and remain open to constructive dialogue," he said.

Taiwan urges China to exercise self-restraint

Regarding the large-scale exercises by the Chinese military, the Presidential Office of Taiwan said, "The Chinese military conducts military operations on international routes where many ships and aircraft travel, unilaterally destroying the current situation in the Taiwan Strait and the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region." We condemn it and sternly call on China to exercise restraint.

On the other hand, he called on the citizens of Taiwan to be reassured, "We are immediately aware of the trend of ballistic missile launches and have set up a defense system."

The Ministry of National Defense is also expected to release information on ballistic missile launches by the Chinese military from time to time in an effort to prevent public unrest from growing.

Citizens' lives are almost as usual, but some private flights to and from Taiwan have been delayed as they take detours to avoid the exercise area.

Also, Taiwanese TV stations are reporting stories of tourists who have canceled trips to remote islands by boat, and stories of captains of excursion boats who say the number of passengers has decreased.

In addition to ensuring transportation safety, Taiwanese authorities emphasize that they will do their best to prevent China from disturbing the psychological and social order of Taiwanese citizens by working on countermeasures against cyber attacks and fake news.

China's fighter plane crosses the "median line" of the Taiwan Strait

According to an announcement by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, a total of 22 fighter planes of the Chinese military crossed the "median line" in the Taiwan Strait on the 4th and entered the airspace on the Taiwan side.

The "median line" in the Taiwan Strait is regarded as a demarcation line to avoid accidental clashes between the Chinese and Taiwanese armies, and flights crossing it to approach the other side are considered to be more provocative.

However, a total of 22 Chinese fighter planes crossed this line on the 3rd and entered the Taiwanese side for the 2nd day in a row.

The Chinese authorities have recently taken a position that they do not recognize the existence of the "median line", and it seems that they are aiming for the disappearance of the "median line" through the daily flights of numerous fighter planes.

For Taiwan, if the "median line" cannot be maintained, the defense line will retreat.

On the other hand, according to the Taiwanese military's Kinmen Defense Command, four unmanned aerial vehicles believed to be Chinese military aircraft approached the skies around Kinmen Island, which is located on the coast of China's Fujian Province and is effectively controlled by Taiwan, on the 4th. fired a warning flare.

Similar incidents have been confirmed on these remote islands on the 3rd.