China and Taiwan ‘involved in standoff’ on second day of military drills

Military drills by China around Taiwan entered their second day on Sunday in what the latter described as “simulated joint precision strikes”.

China began the three-day military exercises a day earlier in a bid to send a message to Taiwan after its president Tsai Ing-wen returned from a US visit. China, which considers Taiwan to be its own territory, has consistently frowned upon the island nation’s ties with the West.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said that as of Sunday midday, 58 Chinese aircraft, including Su-30 fighters and H-6 bombers, as well as nine ships, were spotted around the island.

The drills also reportedly resulted in a standoff between 20 military ships, according to a source.

About 10 Chinese and as many Taiwanese ships were involved in the standoff near Taiwan Strait’s median line, that serves as a buffer zone between the countries, according to Reuters.

China also conducted simulated attacks aimed at “foreign military targets” off Taiwan’s southwest coast, the source said while maintaining their anonymity.

One of China’s aircraft carriers being monitored by Taiwan, the Shandong, is more than 400 miles away off Taiwan’s southeast coast and is carrying out drills, said the source.

Chinese state TV on Sunday morning said combat patrols and drills around Taiwan were continuing.

“Under the unified command of the theatre joint operations command centre, multiple types of units carried out simulated joint precision strikes on key targets on Taiwan island and the surrounding sea areas, and continue to maintain an offensive posture around the island,” it said.

This is the first time China has publicly spoken of simulated attacks on targets in Taiwan, Zhao Xiaozhuo of China’s Academy of Military Sciences told the state-run Global Times newspaper.

The key targets include infrastructure like military logistics facilities and mobile targets “to annihilate them in one fell swoop if necessary”, said the Global Times report.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said it was paying particular attention to the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force, which is in charge of China’s land-based missile system.

“Regarding the movements of the Chinese communists’ Rocket Force, the nation’s military also has a close grasp through the joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system, and air defence forces remain on high alert,” the ministry said.

It reiterated that Taiwan’s forces will “not escalate conflicts nor cause disputes” and would respond “appropriately” to China’s drills.

The US said it was observing the Chinese drills and added is “comfortable and confident” it has sufficient resources to ensure peace.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Taiwan said China was using Ms Tsai’s US visit “as an excuse to carry out military exercises, which has seriously damaged regional peace, stability and security”.

Taiwan’s defence ministry also said it will defend national security with solid combat readiness.

“People of Taiwan love democracy and seek peace,” Ms Tsai had said about her meeting with House speaker Kevin McCarthy.

“We look forward to further strengthening security cooperation with the US.”

“I would like to reiterate that the people of Taiwan love democracy and seek peace,” she had said, without mentioning the military drills.

Additional reporting from agencies