Taiwan has denounced today that Chinese military ships and aircraft have once again crossed the middle line of the Strait of Formosa in a "possible simulated attack" within the military maneuvers announced after the visit to the island of the president of the US Legislature, Nancy Pelosi.
In a message published on its official Twitter account, the island's Ministry of National Defense assures that the objective of this attack simulation would be a "high value asset", without specifying more details in this regard.
In response, Taipei issued alerts and deployed air and naval patrols, also activating its land-based missile systems, as it did yesterday in the face of the "strong provocation" of the crossing of the middle line of the Strait by "several" Chinese ships and planes. This imaginary line in the strait functions as an unofficial but tacitly respected border for China and Taiwan for the past decades.
The movements of the People's Liberation Army (EPL, the Chinese Army) are part of the military maneuvers that it has been carrying out since Thursday and will last until Sunday in retaliation for Pelosi's visit, and which have so far 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 held other drills in the Taiwan Strait in recent years, this week's drills 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 China's military presence in those areas as a "blockade," and Taiwanese 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 communists
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged this Saturday that "tensions" between the United States and China "are growing" but advocated that in times of crisis it is especially important to "maintain dialogue" and leave "the doors open for diplomacy." ".
At a press conference in Manila, as part of his trip to Asia, Blinken stated that his country and the world have "a special interest" in maintaining diplomacy and assured that the United States has held "multiple conversations" with China, in At a time when the world is cautiously watching the escalation of tensions following the visit to Taiwan by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
"I think maintaining dialogue is even more important when tensions between the two countries are on the rise and other nations expect us to maintain dialogue," he said.
