China wrapped up its biggest military maneuvers ever around Taiwan on Sunday (August 7th), which was an angry reaction to the visit of the representative of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to the island. This move has plunged relations between Beijing and Washington to the lowest in years.
United States number three, Mme Pelosi sparked fury in China with his visit Tuesday and Wednesday, the largest by a US lawmaker to Taiwan in 25 years. Beijing responded by suspending a series of Sino-US bilateral talks and cooperation, particularly in the areas of climate change and defense.
The Chinese military has also deployed fighter jets, warships and ballistic missiles in what analysts consider a mock blockade and invasion of Taiwan. On Sunday, the army conducted “joint practical exercises at sea and in the airspace surrounding the island of Taiwan”said the eastern command of the Chinese army, which oversees the eastern maritime space of the country – and, therefore, Taiwan.
These exercises were aimed at “test joint firepower in the field and long-range air strike capabilities”, he added. The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense confirmed that China had sent “planes, ships and drones” around the strait, “to simulate attacks on the main island of Taiwan and on boats in our waters”.
Six of seven “temporary danger zones” lifted
These vast maneuvers were to be completed by midday, but neither Beijing nor Taipei have confirmed that they have been completed. China also plans to conduct new exercises “live fire” until August 15 in the Yellow Sea, which separates China from the Korean Peninsula.
The Taiwanese ministry counted sixty-six aircraft and fourteen ships operating in the strait that separates mainland China from Taiwan, twenty-two of which crossed the median line, which bisects this maritime space. Drawn unilaterally by the United States during the Cold War, this line has never been recognized by Beijing.
China also sent a drone over the Taiwanese island of Kinmen, located about ten kilometers from the Chinese city of Xiamen, forcing the Taiwanese army to fire flares, according to local authorities.
The Taiwanese transport ministry announced that at noon six of the seven “temporary danger zones” that China had asked airlines to avoid had returned to normal, indicating that the drills were coming to an end. “The flights and navigations concerned can gradually resume”he said in a statement.
The seventh zone, in the waters east of Taiwan, will remain to be avoided until Monday morning, according to the same source. On the Chinese side, the Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for confirmation of the end of the maneuvers.
Taipei castigates its “malicious neighbor”
To prove how close it had approached the Taiwanese coast, the Chinese army on Saturday published a photo, taken according to it from one of its military ships, where we see a Taiwanese navy building a few hundred meters only. This shot may be the closest to the Taiwanese coastline ever taken by mainland Chinese forces.
The Chinese military also released video of one of its fighter jet pilots showing the coastline and mountains of Taiwan from his cockpit in mid-flight. According to Chinese state television CCTV, missiles flew over Taiwan this week during exercises around the island – which would be a first.
Taipei has repeatedly condemned these maneuvers in recent days, castigating its “malicious neighbor” and calling Beijing on Saturday at “immediately stop raising tension and carrying out provocative actions aimed at intimidating the Taiwanese people”.
The magnitude of the maneuvers and Beijing’s decision to withdraw from crucial bilateral climate dialogues and the defense triggered a shower of condemnations by the United States and its allies. The American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, denounced Saturday in Manila the “total disproportion” of the Chinese reaction. China should not take “hostage” discussions on issues such as climate change, as this “does not punish the United States, but the whole world”he added.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that he “is impossible to solve the most pressing problems in the world without an effective dialogue and cooperation between the two countries”.