World
Taiwan sees no large-scale Chinese military activities near island
Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Tuesday it has not seen large-scale drills or actions by the Chinese military near the island so far after China condemned a brief US visit by Taiwan Vice President William Lai.
China on Sunday condemned a brief US visit by Taiwan Vice President William Lai, saying that he was a separatist and “troublemaker through and through,” and that Beijing would take strong steps to protect its sovereignty, drawing a rebuke from Taipei.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using Lai’s US stopovers as a pretext to intimidate voters ahead of next year’s election and make them “fear war,” Taiwanese officials say.
When asked about Chinese military activities reacting to Lai’s trip at a news conference, Sun Li-fang, defense ministry spokesperson, said it was the armed forces’ responsibility to track any Chinese military activities near Taiwan.
“The national army upholds the principle of ‘not afraid of the enemy and not provoking’ when facing all activities by the Chinese Communists Party,” Sun said, adding the ministry will not let down its guard.
Five Chinese military planes had entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone in the past 24 hours from Tuesday morning, the ministry said in a daily report on Chinese activities.
Beijing has launched almost daily military incursions into Taiwan’s air defense zone in recent years.
Read more:
Taiwan will stand up to threats, VP William Lai says on US trip
Taiwan vice president to leave for sensitive trip to United States