Taiwan mobilizes to respond to China. Following Taipei’s complaint that Chinese military ships and aircraft have returned to cross the middle line of the Strait of Formosa in a “possible mock attack”, the Taiwanese government has again issued alerts and deployed air and naval patrols. Measures to which it has added the activation of its land-based missile systems.
The launch of Chinese military maneuvers after the visit to the island of the president of the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi, is what has triggered the tension between the two Asian neighbors. In a message posted on its official Twitter account, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense has assured that the objective of this attack simulation would be a “high-value asset“, without specifying more details about it.
Faced with this situation, which Taipei describes as “strong provocation” After Chinese troops crossed the middle line of the Strait by “several” ships and planes, the island has decided to reactivate its Army in the face of any possible incursion by Beijing into its territory. This imaginary line in the strait functions as an unofficial but tacitly respected border for China and Taiwan for the past decades.
[Nancy Pelosi, toda una vida contra la Muralla China: de Tiananmen a la crisis de Taiwán]
Live fire and missile launch
The movements of the People’s Liberation Army (EPL, the Chinese Army) are part of the military maneuvers that it has been carrying out since Thursday and that will last until Sunday in retaliation for Pelosi’s visit. So far, these have included live fire and the launch of long-range missiles.
These exercises take place in six zones around the island, one of them about 20 kilometers off the coast of Kaohsiung, the main city in southern Taiwan. Although China has carried out other drills in the Taiwan Strait in recent years, the ones this week are different because “cover a larger areainvolve more military elements and are expected to be highly effective,” according to Chinese defense experts quoted by local media.
[China rompe con EEUU en materia de inmigración, cambio climático y cooperación policial]
Taiwan has described the Chinese military presence in the aforementioned areas as a “blockade”, with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen calling the “deliberately elevated military threat” from China as “irresponsible”.
China, which has called Pelosi’s visit a “farce” and “deplorable betrayal,” claims sovereignty over the island. Also considers Taiwan a rogue province since the nationalists of the Kuomintang withdrew there in 1949, after losing the civil war against the communists.
[El arsenal que China ha desplazado hacia Taiwán: cazas, aviones espías y barcos de guerra]
Blinken admits increased tension
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, acknowledged this Saturday that the “Tensions” between the United States and China “are growing”. Although he has pointed out that in times of crisis it is especially important to “maintain dialogue” and leave “the doors open for diplomacy.”
At a press conference in Manila, as part of his trip to Asia, Blinken assured that his country and the world have “a special interest” in maintaining diplomacy. So he has assured that The United States has held “multiple talks” with Chinaat a time when the world is cautiously watching the escalation of tensions following the visit to Taiwan of the president of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
[Por qué un avispero de drones sería la mejor defensa de Taiwán ante un repentino ataque chino]
“I think maintaining dialogue is even more important when tensions between the two countries are on the rise and other nations expect us to maintain dialogue“, has sustained the high position of the Joe Biden administration.
