BEIJING (AFP) – China held air and sea drills around Taiwan on Saturday, in what it said was a “stern warning” after the island’s vice president visited the United States.
William Lai -- the frontrunner in Taiwan’s presidential election next year and a vocal opponent of Beijing’s claims to the island -- returned Friday from a trip to Paraguay, during which he stopped in New York and San Francisco.
China has reacted angrily to the U.S. stops, and on Saturday reiterated that Lai was a “troublemaker” while vowing to take “resolute measures... to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The People’s Liberation Army “launched joint air and sea patrols and military exercises of the navy and air force around the island of Taiwan” on Saturday, military spokesperson Shi Yi said, according to state media outlet Xinhua.
Taiwan said 42 warplanes had entered its air defence zone since 9:00 am (0100 GMT), and eight Chinese vessels took part in the exercises.
Twenty-six of the warplanes involved crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, the island’s ministry of defence said in a statement.
Xinhua said the drills were carried out “in the waters and airspace to the north and southwest of Taiwan Island” to test the PLA’s ability “to seize control of air and sea spaces” and fight “in real combat conditions”.
They were also intended to serve as “a stern warning to the collusion of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists with foreign elements and their provocations”, it added.
A social media video published by the PLA on Saturday showed soldiers in fatigues sprinting through a military facility and fighter jets soaring above clouds, set to action-movie-style music.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has pledged to take it one day, by force if necessary.
China has sovereignty over Taipei, and under the internationally-recognized “one-China” policy, nearly all countries recognize that sovereignty, meaning that they would not establish diplomatic contact with its secessionist government.
The U.S., too, professes adherence to the principle, but in violation of its own stated policy and in an attempt to irritate Beijing, Washington courts the secessionist government in Taipei, supports its anti-China position, and supplies it with massive amounts of armaments.
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.
Last August, China deployed warships, missiles, and fighter jets around Taiwan in its largest show of force in years, following a trip to the island by then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.