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China launches drills in response of Taiwan’s VP trip to US

China launched military drills around Taiwan on Saturday as a “serious warning” to separatist forces in an angry but widely expected response to Vice President William Lai’s visit to the United States, drawing condemnation from Taipei. Lai, the front-runner to become Taiwan’s president in elections in January, returned from the United States on Friday. He officially made only stopovers on his way to and from Paraguay but gave speeches while in the U.S. The Associated Press has the story:

China launches drills in response of Taiwan’s VP trip to US

Newslooks- BEIJING (AP)

The Chinese military launched drills around Taiwan on Saturday as a “stern warning” over what it called collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” its defense ministry said, days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States.

In this image taken from video footage run by China’s CCTV, Chinese soldiers take part in military drills in China on Saturday, Aug 19. 2023. China’s defense ministry says its military has launched drills around Taiwan as a “stern warning” over what it calls collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States. (CCTV via AP)

Taiwanese Vice President William Lai’s recent trip to Paraguay to reinforce relations with his government’s last diplomatic partner in South America included stops in San Francisco and New York City. The mainland’s ruling Communist Party claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and says it has no right to conduct foreign relations.

A spokesperson for China’s Eastern Theater Command said in a brief statement that the military exercises involved the coordination of vessels and planes and their ability to seize control of air and sea spaces.

In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai speaks at an event to welcome him to New York on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. The Chinese military launched drills around Taiwan on Saturday, Aug. 19 as a “stern warning” over what it called collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” its defense ministry said, days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)

It was also testing the forces’ “actual combat capabilities,” Shi Yi said. The drills in the waters and airspace to the north and southwest of Taiwan were a warning over provocations from pro-Taiwan independence forces and foreign forces, he added.

The command released footage of the drills online that showed soldiers running, as well as military boats and planes.

State media CCTV reported that missile-equipped boats and fighter jets were involved in the operation and that units worked together to simulate the surrounding of Taiwan.

In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai speaks at an event to welcome him to New York on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. The Chinese military launched drills around Taiwan on Saturday, Aug. 19 as a “stern warning” over what it called collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” its defense ministry said, days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)

Taiwan’s defense ministry said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that its forces detected 42 Chinese military aircraft starting from 9 a.m. on Saturday. It said 26 of them crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary considered a buffer between the island and the mainland. Eight vessels also took part in the joint combat patrol, it said.

Taiwan deployed aircraft and vessels and activated land-based missile systems in response to the drills and was closely monitoring the situation, the ministry said.

FILE – Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai Ching-te waves after landing at Silvio Pettirossi airport in Luque, Paraguay, on Aug. 14, 2023. The Chinese military launched drills around Taiwan on Saturday, Aug. 19 as a “stern warning” over what it called collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” its defense ministry said, days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File)

The ministry also strongly condemned what it called the “irrational, provocative moves” in a separate statement. It said its military would stand ready in the face of the threats posted by the Chinese army, adding that its forces have “the ability, determination and confidence to safeguard national security.”

It posted a video on Facebook that showed previous military drills and said the Chinese military exercises reflected a militaristic mentality.

In this image taken from video footage run by China’s CCTV, a Chinese warship conducts drills in an area around Taiwan on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. China’s defense ministry says its military has launched drills around Taiwan as a “stern warning” over what it calls collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States. (CCTV via AP)

Taiwan and China split in 1949 following a civil war that ended with the ruling Communist Party in control of the mainland. The self-ruled island has never been part of the People’s Republic of China, but Beijing sees Taiwan as a breakaway province to be retaken by force if necessary.

China’s official Xinhua news agency on Saturday reported that an unnamed official in China’s Taiwan Work Office strongly condemned what it called further collusion between Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the U.S. and said it was a “new provocative move.”

In this image taken from video footage run by China’s CCTV, a Chinese warship conducts drills in an area around Taiwan on Saturday, Aug 19. 2023. China’s defense ministry says its military has launched drills around Taiwan as a “stern warning” over what it calls collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States. (CCTV via AP)

The official pointed to the stopovers in the U.S., an interview Lai gave to news outlet Bloomberg and his meeting with U.S. officials in Paraguay, the report said. The official said Lai had used “Taiwan independence” rhetoric in the interview.

The official also accused Lai of using his stopovers in the U.S. to sell out the interests of Taiwan to seek gains in the island’s election, and described him as a “troublemaker who will push Taiwan to the dangerous brink of war,” the report added.

Lai is his party’s candidate for the 2024 presidential election in January.

In this image taken from video footage run by China’s CCTV, Chinese sailors run past a insignia with the words “Chinese Navy Nantong Vessel” on Saturday, Aug 19. 2023. China’s defense ministry says its military has launched drills around Taiwan as a “stern warning” over what it calls collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States. (CCTV via AP)

Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, wrote on the X platform that China “has made it clear it wants to shape” the island’s national election, and attached the command’s statement and the Xinhua report in his post. “It’s up to our citizens to decide, not the bully next door,” he wrote.

In this image taken from video footage run by China’s CCTV, a Chinese fighter jet prepares to take off from China for drills on Saturday, Aug 19. 2023. China’s defense ministry says its military has launched drills around Taiwan as a “stern warning” over what it calls collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States. (CCTV via AP)

China’s largest military drills in recent years were in response to former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last August. It fired missiles over the island in a significant escalation and the military exercises disrupted trade lanes in the Taiwan Strait and forced airplanes to reroute their flights.

In this image taken from video footage run by China’s CCTV, a Chinese fighter jet is seen from the cockpit of another over area near Taiwan on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. China’s defense ministry says its military has launched drills around Taiwan as a “stern warning” over what it calls collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” days after the island’s vice president stopped over in the United States. (CCTV via AP)

In April, Chinese forces held large-scale combat readiness drills in the air and waters around Taiwan in response to President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with current U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

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