Chinese military launches large-scale exercises in Taiwan Strait

Chinese military helicopters fly over Pingtan Island in August 2022 (illustration image). AFP - HECTOR RETAMAL

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On Saturday, April 8, the Chinese military launched three days of intensive military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, amid tensions with the island after a meeting in the United States of its president Tsai Ing-wen and Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives. third person of the American state. Eight warships and 42 fighter jets have already been detected around the island by the Taiwanese defense on Saturday, April 8.

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Beijing's three-day drills "serve as a serious warning against collusion between separatist forces seeking 'Taiwan independence' and external forces, as well as their provocative activities," Chinese military spokesman Shi Yi said in a statement. Eight Chinese warships and 42 fighter jets were detected Saturday by Taiwan's Defense Ministry around the island, on the first day of Beijing's military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. Twenty-nine planes crossed the middle line separating China from Taiwan, the ministry said, denouncing "irrational actions."

Live-fire exercises

In addition to the various unit deployments, live-fire exercises will be held Monday in the Taiwan Strait near the coast of Fujian (east), the province facing the island, said local maritime authorities. In response, Taipei said the maneuvers threaten "stability and security" in the Asia-Pacific region.

These announcements follow President Tsai Ing-wen's visit this week to the United States, where she met Wednesday, April 5, with Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker of the House of Representatives. At that time, Beijing had, in the aftermath, promised in retaliation "firm and energetic measures". China views with dissatisfaction the rapprochement at work in recent years between the Taiwanese authorities and the United States, which despite the absence of official relations provide the island with substantial military support.

China considers Taiwan (population 23 million) as one of its provinces, which it has not yet managed to reunify with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. The United States recognized the People's Republic of China in 1979 and should theoretically have no official contact with the Republic of China (Taiwan), under Beijing's "one-China principle."

Military pressure

Since April 6, Beijing has stepped up military pressure on Taiwan with the dispatch of warships and aircraft to the strait. The exact location of the new maneuvers is not specified, except for the April 10 live-fire exercises, which will take place around Pingtan, the point in mainland China closest to Taiwan. The narrowest part of the strait between the Chinese coast and the island is about 130 kilometers wide. For several days, China has also reinforced the presence of its coast guard in the Strait for exceptional patrols.

In August, Beijing launched unprecedented military maneuvers around Taiwan when Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who preceded McCarthy on the perch, visited the island. The answer - at this stage - to the meeting with the American number three has nothing comparable with the summer of 2022.

These military maneuvers come the day after a state visit to China by Emmanuel Macron, during which the question of Taiwan was discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "The conversation was dense and frank" on this subject, said Friday the Elysee. "Anyone who thinks that China will compromise on Taiwan is deluding himself," Xi Jinping told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday at a meeting in Beijing, according to remarks reported by Chinese diplomacy.

(

With AFP)

► Read also: France: what assessment for Emmanuel Macron's visit to China?

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  • China
  • Taiwan
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  • Diplomacy