Biden is not worried about Taipei

Beijing: Taiwan is part of China and we conduct regular military exercises in our waters

Chinese Air Force planes carry out joint exercises near Taiwan.

dad

Yesterday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that Taiwan is part of China and that Beijing is conducting normal military exercises "in our waters" in an open, transparent and professional manner, and at a time when the Chinese army announced yesterday that it will conduct new military exercises by land and sea around Taiwan a day later. With his biggest-ever maneuver scheduled to end, US President Joe Biden has said he's not worried about Taiwan.

When asked whether China's continued military exercises complies with international law and whether it will issue a new warning to civilian ships and aircraft, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said relevant departments have made timely announcements, in line with domestic and international law.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Defense continued its diplomatic pressure on the United States and defended its suspension of military talks with Washington in protest of the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.

"It was the US side that caused the tense situation," Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said.

Yesterday, the Chinese military announced new military exercises on land and at sea around Taiwan, a day after the scheduled end of its largest-ever exercises, which it launched in protest of Pelosi's visit to Taipei last week.

The Eastern Command said it will conduct joint exercises focusing on countering submarine and naval attacks.

Taiwan's foreign ministry denounced the move, saying that China, which maintains that the autonomous island belongs to it, is deliberately creating crises.

And demanded that Beijing stop its military operations and not push matters to the "edge of the abyss."

"Taiwan will not be afraid and will not back down, and will more vigorously defend its sovereignty, national security and free and democratic way of life," the ministry said in a statement.

In his first public comment, US President Joe Biden said yesterday that he is not concerned about Taiwan but is concerned about China's actions in the region.

"I'm concerned about (China's) moves, but I don't think they'll do anything more than they are (now)," Biden told reporters in Delaware.

Pelosi's visit last week infuriated China, which responded by firing ballistic missiles over Taipei for the first time, as well as blocking some channels of dialogue with Washington.

The exact duration or location of the new exercises is not yet known, but Taiwan has already eased flight restrictions near the six areas of China's recent exercise around the island.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry later said it had spotted 39 Chinese Air Force planes and 13 navy ships in and around the Taiwan Strait yesterday.

The ministry added that 21 Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan's air defense zone, including combat aircraft that crossed the center line in the northern part of the Taiwan Strait.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news