Taipei, Taiwan
Reuters
Chinese warplanes and navy ships were still in the waters around Taiwan, the island’s defence ministry said on Tuesday after the end of three days of war games, as Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen criticised Beijing for its “irresponsible” behaviour.
China began the exercises on Saturday after Tsai returned to Taipei following a meeting in Los Angeles with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
A Chinese warship fires during a military drill off the Chinese coast near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, across from the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands, China, on 11th April, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Thomas Peter
China, which warned the US not to allow Tsai to visit or meet McCarthy, has never renounced the use of force to bring the democratically governed island under Beijing’s control. Taiwan’s government strongly disputes China’s claims.
MACRON CRITICISED FOR SAYING EUROPE SHOULD TAKE INDEPENDENT STANCE ON TAIWAN
French President Emmanuel Macron has caused a stir by saying Europe has no interest in accelerating the conflict in Taiwan and should become a “third pole” independent of both Washington and Beijing.
Political actors on both sides of the Atlantic criticised the president’s position as being too accommodating of China, just as it carries out military drills around Taiwan.
In an interview with French newspaper Les Echos and Politico during his three-day visit to China last week, Macron said “the worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and adapt to the American rhythm or a Chinese overreaction.”
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan’s government strongly objects to China’s claims.
German MP for the Bundestag’s foreign committee Norbert Roettgen said in a tweet that Macron had “managed to turn his China trip into a PR coup for Xi and a foreign policy disaster for Europe.” He added that the French president was “increasingly isolating himself in Europe.”
In a video posted on Twitter, US senator Marco Rubio drew parallels with the conflict in Ukraine – on which Macron hopes to enlist the help of China.
If Europe doesn’t “pick sides between the US and China over Taiwan, then maybe we shouldn’t be picking sides either [on Ukraine],” the Republican senator said.
Pascal Confavreux, spokesperson for the French embassy in the United States, said that Macron’s comments had been overinterpreted.
“The US is our ally with whom we share our values,” he said on Twitter.
The Elysee did not respond to requests for comment.
– LAYLI FOROUDI and MICHEL ROSE, in Paris, France/Reuters
Although China said on Monday night the drills had ended, Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had spotted nine Chinese ships and 26 aircraft, including J-16 and Su-30 fighters, carrying out combat readiness patrols around the island late Tuesday morning.
Taiwan’s air force, navy and shore-based missile crews are closely monitoring and responding, it added.
Taiwan’s government has repeatedly denounced the drills, but said it will not escalate or provoke.
Writing on her Facebook page shortly before midnight on Monday, Tsai said that as president, “I represent my county to the world”, and that her visits abroad, including stops in the United States, are not new and what Taiwan’s people expect.
“However, China used this to launch military exercises, causing instability in Taiwan and the region. This is not a responsible attitude for a major country in the region,” she said.
China simulated precision attacks and blockades of Taiwan during the drills, sending up dozens of fighter jets and bombers.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said that on Monday, 91 Chinese military aircraft flew in missions around the island.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said that was a record, though the defence ministry said it could not verify whether that was the case.
The ministry published a map showing that on Monday Chinese aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line, which normally serves as an unofficial barrier, to its north and centre.
It also showed 15 carrier-based J-15s, most likely flying from China’s Shandong aircraft carrier, flying east of Taiwan. Taiwan has been tracking the Shandong in the Western Pacific since last week.
Reuters reporters on the coast near the Chinese city of Fuzhou on Tuesday saw separate, and much more low-key, drills taking place, with a warship firing at targets. Those exercises were announced before China’s massed drills around Taiwan.
Fuzhou sits close to the Taiwan-controlled Matsu islands.
“Defend the country”
Tsai said Taiwan’s armed forces and coast guard reacted calmly and professionally to China’s exercises, and she thanked everyone involved.
“Although China’s military exercises have come to an end, the nation’s military and national security team will continue to stick to their posts and defend the country,” she added.
The exercises have also caused concern in Japan, especially as its southern islands sit close to Taiwan and could become caught up in a conflict.
The Japanese island of Okinawa is host to a major US air force base, and last August when China staged war games to protest the visit of then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei, Chinese missiles landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
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Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Tuesday described China’s military drills around Taiwan as “intimidating training” to seize sea and air control around the island.
China appeared to have shown an “uncompromising attitude” regarding Taiwan issues through the drills, Hamada told reporters.
Life in Taiwan has continued as normal despite the tensions, with no signs of panic or disruption, and civilian flights around the island, including over the Taiwan Strait, were also uninterrupted.
Both Taiwan’s ruling and opposition parties, in a rare show of unity, put out a joint statement from their parliament caucuses condemning the drills.
“The people and government of Taiwan have the right to conduct normal exchanges with other countries and contribute to the international community through international participation,” the statement said. “The Chinese authorities have no right to obstruct and cannot change the strong will of the Taiwanese people to go out into the world.”
– Additional reporting by JEANNY KAO, KANTARO KOMIYA in Tokyo, Japan, and THOMAS PETER in Fuzhou, China
