China continued its naval exercises in the Taiwan Strait that continue until Monday, with state television reporting that the drills simulated hitting key targets in Taiwan for the first time, while the chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hinted at the possibility of sending troops to defend Taiwan if Beijing invaded it.
According to Chinese television, the drills include a full encirclement of the island, the ability to control the sea, airspace and communications, to create a deterrent force and a complete encirclement of Taiwan without specifying the exact location of the exercises.
China's military said the drills were necessary to safeguard China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and integrity, a serious warning of what it called collusion between separatist forces seeking Taiwan independence and outside powers.
In Taipei, Taiwan's defense ministry said air defense forces were maintaining a high degree of vigilance and on high alert.
It said it closely monitors the movements of the Chinese military's missile force through the Joint Surveillance and Reconnaissance System and has spotted 11 warships and 78 Chinese aircraft around the island.
Taiwan's defense ministry appealed to the people of the country not to be swayed by what it called imaginary war tactics to influence the psyche of the people.
American Brandishing
Meanwhile, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said sending U.S. troops to Taiwan could be possible if China invades Taiwan.
McCaul told Fox News that this matter will be on the table and will be discussed by Congress with the American people, adding that if the American people support this, Congress will follow.
China views with dismay the years-long rapprochement between Taiwanese authorities and the United States, which provides the island with significant military support despite the lack of formal relations.
Last summer, China held unprecedented military exercises around Taiwan, firing missiles in retaliation for a visit to Taipei by Democrat Nancy Pelosi, then the U.S. House of Representatives.
French position
French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe should reduce its engagement with the United States and avoid a possible confrontation with China over the Taiwan issue.
Macron added – in a press interview – that what he described as a great danger for Europe is to find itself dragged into crises that are not its crises, which will prevent it from building its strategic independence, as he put it.
Macron warned that the worst is the belief that Europeans should become followers in this file, and draw their signals from the agenda of the United States and the exaggerated Chinese reaction, as he described it.
Macron stressed that Europeans had no interest in accelerating the Taiwan crisis.
The French president concluded a visit to China last week, during which he held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
One of his most prominent statements during the visit was that both China and France are members of the Security Council and have historical depth, and that they should strive to establish an international order that faces the challenges of time to ensure stability in the world.