BEIJING (AFP/AP) – China has begun three days of military exercises around Taiwan amid anger in Beijing over Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting in California with the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its aims, will hold “combat readiness patrols” until April 10, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command said in a brief statement on Saturday.
The drills, dubbed United Sharp Sword, involve exercises in the Taiwan Strait to the north and south of the island as well as in the sea and airspace to its east.
“This is a serious warning to the Taiwan independence separatist forces and external forces’ collusion and provocation, and it is a necessary action to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the PLA said.
Tsai met McCarthy on the return leg of a tour of the self-ruled island’s two remaining formal allies in Central America and arrived home on Friday.
Beijing had threatened retaliation even before the meeting took place. The Shandong aircraft carrier was spotted sailing through Taiwan’s southeastern waters on its way to the western Pacific hours before the meeting was scheduled on Wednesday.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it was monitoring the situation and would respond appropriately to defend the island’s security.
On Friday, Beijing announced tightened sanctions against Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the U.S., and the Ronald Reagan Library where Tsai and McCarthy met, but held back from the more overt response that followed the visit to the island last August of McCarthy’s predecessor Nancy Pelosi.
On that occasion China staged days of war games around Taiwan, including firing missiles across the island.
A senior American lawmaker vowed on Saturday to help provide training for Taiwan’s armed forces and to speed up delivery of weapons to the island.
Speaking at a lunch in Taipei hosted by Tsai for his bipartisan delegation, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul underlined that the visit was intended to demonstrate strong support of Taipei.
Taiwan has complained of delays to deliveries of American weapons since last year, as U.S. arms makers turn supplies to Ukraine to support its war effort against Russia.
While a military pact between Taipei and Washington ended in 1979 when the U.S. severed formal diplomatic ties in favor of Beijing, a close military relationship between them endures as the U.S. remains Taiwan’s main foreign source of arms.
China describes Taiwan as the most sensitive and important issue in its relations with the U.S., and the topic remains a constant source of friction between Beijing and Washington.