Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has accused Chinese planes and ships of carrying out mock exercises for an attack on the main island of Taiwan on Saturday,
KYIV . Ukrgate . 7 . August . 2022 | World News.
Details
According to the ministry, several groups of Chinese aircraft and ships were detected in the Taiwan Strait, some of which crossed the middle line, an unofficial buffer zone separating the two sides. Taiwan’s military used patrol warships and responded by deploying shore-based missiles.
Meanwhile, a Taiwanese official in charge of various missile production projects was found dead in a hotel room in southern Taiwan on Saturday morning, according to the official CNA. Ou Yang Li-sing, deputy chairman of the military-owned Chung Shan National Institute of Science and Technology, was 57 years old. A Taiwanese official died of a heart attack, according to official media cited by Reuters.
At the same time, the foreign ministers of the United States, Australia and Japan called on China to immediately stop military exercises around Taiwan. In a joint statement after a meeting in Phnom Penh on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Australian and Japanese Foreign Ministers Penny Wong and Yoshimasa Hayashi “expressed their concern over recent actions by the People’s Republic of China, which seriously undermine international peace and stability, including conducting large-scale military exercises.” They also “condemned China’s launch of ballistic missiles, five of which the Japanese government said landed in its exclusive economic zone, heightening tensions and destabilizing the region.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Chinese military exercises near Taiwan pose a threat to regional security. Beijing announced the four-day drills, which are expected to end on Sunday. Training is “a serious issue that affects our national security and the security of our citizens,” Kishida told reporters after meeting with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Tokyo on Friday.
At the same time, North Korea condemned Nancy Pelosi as the “worst destroyer of international peace and stability” after the speaker of the US House of Representatives expressed her commitment to achieving the denuclearization of the DPRK during a visit to South Korea. He also condemned her trip to Taiwan.
Meanwhile, reacting to China’s decision to end cooperation with the US in several areas, US special representative on climate change John Kerry said that China’s decision to suspend bilateral climate change talks with the US is not punishing Washington, “it is punishing the whole world”. “No country should hold back progress on existential transnational issues because of bilateral differences,” said the former US secretary of state, who is now the top climate diplomat in the Biden administration. US National Security Council representative John Kirby also told reporters that China’s decision to end cooperation in a number of critical areas was “fundamentally irresponsible.”
Addition
China is holding one of its largest military exercises around Taiwan from August 4 to 7. Taiwan said China fired 11 ballistic missiles into waters off its northeast and southwest coasts on Aug. 4, while Japanese officials said five Chinese missiles landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense says Chinese ships and aircraft are crossing the median line, an informal dividing line in the Taiwan Strait between mainland China and Taiwan, during the exercise.
China’s military drills began after a controversial visit to the island by top US Democrat Nancy Pelosi.
Speaking in Japan, Pelosi promised that China “will not isolate” Taiwan by preventing American politicians from traveling there.
Source: Ukrgate
