China continued its large-scale military exercises around Taiwan on Saturday, a day after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) sent a “record number” of military planes and warships to areas around Taiwan. island, the Foreign Ministry in Taipei said.
Several Chinese planes and ships crossed the unofficial, but so far mostly respected, median line in the 130km-wide Taiwan Strait separating the island from the mainland, news agency dpa reports.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Jason Wu tweeted his condemnation of what he called a “dangerous escalation of military threat” which was “destroying peace and stability in the region and must be condemned”.
As part of its military drills, the PLA also launched 11 ballistic missiles towards Taiwan, one of which flew directly over the island and passed near the capital Taipei for the first time, according to reports.
Five more missiles landed east of Taiwan in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, in a move that was widely seen as a warning to Tokyo to stay out of the conflict.
China launched the exercises, which are due to continue until Sunday, in response to US President Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan earlier in the week.
The visit of the top US politician to Taiwan in 25 years has sparked outrage from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory, despite the island having been self-governing since 1949.
China later suspended dialogue with the United States on climate protection and some military issues, while it stopped cooperating on issues such as the fight against organized crime, drugs and repatriation. illegal immigrants.
In addition, Beijing imposed unspecified sanctions on Pelosi and members of his immediate family, accusing him of “seriously interfering in internal affairs”.
