The Chinese military launched three days of major military exercises in the Taiwan Strait in response to US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California.
The exercises were announced by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as Tsai returned to Taiwan. During the first day of drills on Saturday, the PLA said it was practicing its ability to “seize control of the sea, air and information” around Taiwan.
Shi Yi, a spokesman for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, made clear the drills were a response to Tsai’s meeting with McCarthy. “This is to send a serious warning against Taiwan independence separatist forces and their collusion with foreign forces to stir provocations,” Shi said.
The meeting made McCarthy the highest-level US official to ever meet with a Taiwanese president on US soil since Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei to open up with Beijing in 1979. McCarthy is also only the third House speaker to meet with a Taiwanese leader.
According to The South China Morning Post, the Saturday drills involved a rocket team from the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, destroyers, frigates, missile boats, fighter jets, bombers, and electronic warfare planes. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it detected 71 PLA aircraft and nine vessels, including 45 planes that crossed the median line, an informal barrier that separates the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
China used to very rarely cross the median line, but that has changed since then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022. China launched its largest-ever military exercises after Pelosi’s visit and now regularly crosses the median line.
This weekend’s drills are the largest Chinese exercises in the area since Pelosi’s visit. The PLA put on a similar show of force in December in response to President Biden signing the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included unprecedented military aid for Taiwan, but they were not multi-day drills.
On Sunday, China’s drills continued, and Chinese state media reported they were focused on simulating strikes on Taiwan. “Multiple armed services conducted simulated joint precision strikes against key targets on Taiwan and nearby waters to maintain a posture that encircles and closes in on the island,” China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported, according to the Post.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it detected 70 PLA aircraft and 11 vessels on Sunday, including 35 planes that crossed the median line. It said Taiwan’s armed forces had “monitored the situation and tasked our assets to respond these provocative activities.”
China repeatedly said it would take strong measures if McCarthy met with Tsai, but the warnings did not deter the House speaker. On Twitter, as China was conducting its major drills, McCarthy wrote, “I am the Speaker of the House. There is no place that China is going to tell me where I can go or who I can speak to.”
McCarthy wrote, “I am the Speaker of the House. There is no place that China is going to tell me where I can go or who I can speak to.”
So, Kevin asked himself if it was more important for him to look tough and risk what might be expected to happen, and did, or just let diplomacy have a snowball’s chance in hell of ever happening and not try to outdo Pelosi’s stupidity. Keven chose Kevin.
Ugh……………………………
The Chinese military launched military exercises in the Taiwan Strait in response to US House Speaker McCarthy meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen
so that is china’s excuse to hold military drills.
what is uncle sam’s excuse for military drills.
Are they all just gearing up for war?
They would be stupid if they aren’t
they are playing army-men like little boys –
“pew pew pew gotcha you’re dead!”
Maybe the same thing? Some third assistant undersecretary of the Chinese foreign ministry met with a deputy minister of culture of Morocco without Washington’s permission?
i wonder if china could even pick McCarthy out of a line-up
I might have trouble.
China is playing into Washington’s hands, this is what they want, as Biden needs a foreign enemy to focus on instead of his many failures.
I am pro-Taiwan and pro-China. Taiwan is a country, they have their own government and schools and everything, they don’t want to be run by the dictatorship in Beijing. I can assure you most Chinese dislike the ruling party. But China is not “communist” and it is not going to invade Taiwan. They are deeply financially connected with Taiwan. Taiwanese students study in Shanghai and Hong Kong, Taiwan has invested more in China than the U.S. has. There are three airlines flying daily from Taiwan to China. Chinese tourists go to Taiwan every year.
China has invested more than $1 trillion in the U.S., which they don’t want to lose. They are betting on American success.
China has repeatedly stated their policy, that “Taiwan will return to China voluntarily in time.”
They shouldn’t try to “act tough” just because their government also needs some foreign threat to focus on. Typical politicians.
China has few vessels that could land troops in Taiwan. And with the latest U.S. missiles from two years ago, Taiwan can even hit Chinese ships as they leave port. Taiwan can quickly place mines among the islands between Formosa and the mainland, and they have tons of cannons on the islands. Plus there’d be the U.S. navy, which is vastly superior to the Chinese one. No, China won’t start a war. But Biden really, really wants to them to act like they might. And they fall for it.
Taiwan is not a country just like Hawaii is not a country. Tell me out of 185 countries in the world how many formally recognized Taiwan as a country? Have you check Us state department website on its stand on Taiwan? And did you ever read Taiwan’s own constitution that said they are part of China?
Yes stop spreading disinformation as Taiwan is not a country and according to 2021 poll only 20% of population seeks independence while 77% want to keep the current status quote of slow reunion or immediate reunion. As far as I know majority vote counts, just because minority voice are amplified by American’s propaganda network doesn’t mean that’s what majority of folks in that island wants.
FYI, 60% of Taiwan GDP relies on mainland China, that’s not including Hong Kong and Macao regions. If you include that it meant about 3/4 of its entire gdp relies on China. If China ever want to sanction the island, then its economy will crash and burn. And just fyi about half of its water and energy consumption are imported from China. Just think about all these consequences who in their right minds wants independence that will send them back to dark ages?
Or does US really like democracy for the poor and homeless just like those in it’s own cities?
you need to post links to sources otherwise guys like FWD, who i suspect has changed his name from either Kenneth or Michael, will refute your post, also with no links to sources. see what i’m saying?
Even if I posted links folks like FWD would refuse to even bother to look at it cause they already made up their mind about China or Russia or any countries who just refuses to follow US regime’s command. Or they are just CIA shills spreading propaganda as it’s their job.
shills, likely. edit = scratch Michael64 from my last comment as i just saw him most recently elsewhere
The Chinese exercises make it clear they do not intend to “invade” Taiwan.
Their chosen tactic, what they practice for, is to besiege Taiwan, to blockade it by sea and air.
It is quite possible they could succeed at that. Therefore, the US talks endlessly about how it could defeat something else, something China is not even practicing to do.
That’s the best way for them to control the separatist in Taiwan while preventing US from doing anything externally unless US want to be first to start the shooting war.
Blockade is an act of war
Blockade aka Sanction is an act of war and it’s been used countless times by USA without any consequences so what’s the problem?
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
The blockade of a renegade province is a mark of national sovereignty on China’s part. U.N. Charter: “The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.”
McCarthy did not care because his sorry *ss will not be near the conflict.
There are no need for China to capture Taiwan by military force but it is important to prevent the increase of American military presence in Taiwan. Can the military exercises alone discourage Taiwan leadership from flirtation with neocons? Probably not. Maybe the economic sanctions could help. China is the largest trade partner of Taiwan.
The military exercises draw the attention of the young men who will have to die for the Taiwan separatists, and who will conclude that Chinese belong in the real China, not in the bogus ‘Republic of China.’ There is only one China.
Doncha just love temper tamptrums?
What an egotistical war hawk. So pretty much just F the American people because “I’ll do what I want.”
. . .and they claim that the U.S.is a democracy, while its opponents are authoritarian. They’ve got it backwards.