TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan on Wednesday called on China to end the war. Ongoing military activities They announced that they were unilaterally undermining peace and stability in nearby waters and disrupting international shipping and trade.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on its website that it was partially responding to Taiwan’s activities. ‘Multiple’ Chinese ships The First Island Chain is a group of Pacific islands off the coast of mainland Asia, including Japan, Taiwan, and parts of the Philippines.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs solemnly requests the authorities in Beijing to immediately stop military threats and all irrational activities that endanger peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.
Taiwan’s military has been detecting Chinese vessels off the coast of Taiwan and further offshore in the First Island Chain since Monday, Defense Ministry officials announced this week. They described it as two walls designed to mark the area as belonging to China. Taiwanese media, citing unnamed national security officials, reported that a total of 90 ships were involved, including 60 navy ships and 30 coast guard ships.
One analyst said this was the first time this year that the Japan Coast Guard, which also participated in the exercises in May and October, would blockade Taiwan’s ports and the navy would form an outer barrier around Taiwan’s ports. He said it is part of the lockdown scenario. sea.
“They were training to blockade Taiwan,” Kuo Yuzhen, an Asia-Pacific security expert at Taiwan’s National Sun Yat-sen University, told The Associated Press in an interview.
Taiwan’s military had scheduled the training after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-toku stopped in Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam. overseas travel last week. China claims autonomous Taiwan as its own territory and opposes any formal contact with the United States or other foreign governments.
China has restricted airspace off its southeastern coast from Monday to Wednesday and has indicated it plans to hold exercises during those three days, but the People’s Liberation Army has not confirmed whether they are taking place.
Kuo said the low-key approach may be intended as a warning to both Lai and incoming U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kuo said Lai, who took office in May, angered China by visiting Hawaii and Guam, but unlike other new leaders, he has so far refrained from visiting the mainland United States. . The analyst added that if China holds major military exercises around Taiwan, there will be no cards for Mr. Lai’s visit to the U.S. mainland next year.
“China must secure space for strategic maneuver for itself,” he said.
Kuo also believes military activity is a “very important strategic communication” to Trump. “They intentionally signaled to President Trump that this is a line that should not be crossed,” he said. “If the new U.S. administration allows President Lai to transit (to the U.S. mainland), China will react even more strongly. There will likely be large-scale military exercises by then.”
chinese army conducted a large-scale exercise Following Mr. Lai’s inauguration ceremony in May and the National Day speech in October, he toured various parts of Taiwan. That too held a large-scale training After then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022.
A Chinese spokesperson did not comment directly on the ongoing exercises, but said in a statement posted online Wednesday that the government had no intention of allowing Taiwan’s provocations in collusion with outside forces to go unchecked.
“We will resolutely protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity, maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and take necessary measures to protect the fundamental interests of our compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” said Zhu Fenglian, government spokesperson for Taiwan Affairs. We will take measures.” office.
The Taiwan Strait is a 160-kilometer (100-mile) wide body of water between China and the island of Taiwan.
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Mr. Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Associated Press researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.
