The island of Taiwan remains heated despite calls from Western leaders and from Japan to Beijing to de-escalate. The Chinese Army announced on Monday new military exercises in the seas and airspace around the island, one day after having terminated Beijing's largest maneuvers in the Formosa Strait crisis, including a simulated attack against Taiwan. in which several missiles flew over the island for the first time. The Taiwanese authorities for their part announced their own military exercises for this week, where they will simulate defense by sea and land against a supposed Chinese attack.
As part of his response to the visit of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, last week to Taipei; The Chinese Army's Eastern Theater Command said it will hold drills in anti-submarine and sea assault operations. While no moves were detected, the announcement confirms fears among some security analysts and diplomats that Beijing could keep up pressure on Taiwan's defenses beyond Sunday.
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry remains calm in the face of China's moves, but accused Beijing of deliberately provoking a crisis with its new military actions. "In the face of military intimidation created by China, Taiwan will not fear or back down, and will more firmly uphold its sovereignty, national security and free and democratic way of life," the ministry said in a statement.
In parallel, the Taiwanese army reported on its own drills, which will take place on Tuesday and Thursday in the southernmost part of the Pingtung area. In the exercises, which were already scheduled before the current crisis, live fire will be used to simulate the defense of the island against an alleged Chinese invasion, according to a military spokesman. Several hundred soldiers and some 40 howitzers will be deployed for these exercises, according to the same source.
The democratic and autonomous island lives under the constant threat of an invasion by Beijing, which considers its neighbor as part of its territory that it must one day recover, by force if necessary.
American Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last week angered China, with Beijing responding with its first mock ballistic missile fire on Taipei, as well as cutting ties with Washington.
The scale of the maneuvers aroused criticism from the heads of the G7 diplomacy (United States, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, United Kingdom), who considered that there was "no justification for these "aggressive" maneuvers. Suspension of Sino-US cooperation on key issues such as climate change was called "totally disproportionate" by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The exact duration and location of the latest drills announced on Monday are not yet known, but Taiwan has already eased flight restrictions near the six areas where Chinese military drills around the island were held last week.
Shortly before those exercises ended on Sunday, about 10 warships from China and Taiwan maneuvered at close range around the unofficial dividing line of the Taiwan Strait, according to a source familiar with the situation who is involved in planning for security issues. area security. According to a commentator on Chinese state television, from now on the Chinese military will carry out "regular" exercises on the Chinese side of Taiwan's median line, which the island considers a limit for its defense.
