Taiwan has once again denounced this Sunday that the Chinese Army continues to simulate attacks on both the island and its naval forces during what should be the last day of military maneuvers organized by Beijing in retaliation for the visit of the president of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi.
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In a statement published on its website, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense said that, on Sunday morning, it detected “multiple groups” of planes, ships and drones operating around the Strait of Formosa.
According to the document, Chinese forces would continue “conducting joint exercises by sea and air, simulating attacks against the island of Taiwan and against our ships at sea”, while groups of aircraft “infest” other islands controlled by Taipei.
In response, as in recent days, the Taiwanese forces deployed their aircraft and ships after “closely monitoring the enemy’s situation.”
On Saturday night, the military portfolio specified that up to 20 planes and 14 ships of the People’s Liberation Army (EPL, the Chinese Army) participated in the maneuvers around Taiwan during that day. The movements of the EPL are part of the military exercises that it has been carrying out since Thursday and that, in principle, should end this Sunday.
So far, the maneuvers have included live fire and the launch of long-range missiles. These exercises take place in six zones around the island, one of them about 20 kilometers from the coast of Kaohsiung, the main city in southern Taiwan.
Although China has carried out other drills in the Taiwan Strait in recent years, this week’s ones are different because “they cover a larger area, involve more military elements and are expected to be highly effective,” Chinese experts on the matter reported. of defense quoted by local media.
Taiwan has described the Chinese military presence in the aforementioned areas as a “blockade”, and the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, called China’s “deliberately heightened military threat” “irresponsible”.
China, which described Pelosi’s visit as a “farce” and “deplorable betrayal”, claims sovereignty over the island and considers Taiwan a rebellious province since the Kuomintang nationalists withdrew there in 1949, after losing the civil war against the Chinese. communists
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