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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China 'warns' Taiwan with fresh military drills attack after Lai's visit to US |
| 2023-08-20 |
| [GEO.TV] China began a series of military drills in the vicinity of Taiwan as a furious response to the island's separatist forces over the recent visit of Taiwan's Vice President William Lai to the United States, which is regarded as Beijing's key rival. The military exercises were referred to as a "stern warning" to Chinese opponent separatist forces on the island state, which the country sees as its own territory. In a brief statement on Saturday morning, the Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), which is in charge of the island of Taiwan, announced that it was conducting joint naval and air combat readiness patrols around the island. Beijing hasn't ruled out using force to seize control of the democratic, autonomous island. Moreover, Beijing has boosted military exercises around Taiwan over the recent years in response to what it considers "collusion" between the capital Taipei and Washington. "The patrols and exercises serve as a stern warning to the collusion of ’Taiwan independence separatists with foreign elements and their provocations," the spokesperson said. The Eastern Theatre Command stated that the PLA would conduct joint naval and air force drills with a focus on "actual combat capabilities" and ship-aircraft coordination to test seizing control of air and sea spaces, reported Al Jazeera. "The armed forces’ ability to fight in real combat conditions will be tested", a spokesperson for the eastern command told China’s state-run Xinhua news. Taiwanese officials and analysts had said that the recent military action carried out by China was provoked by Taiwan's Vice President William Lai's visit to the United States. Related: Taiwan: 2023-08-19 China rehearses invasion of Taiwan with troops storming 'sea defences' while Beijing and Russia stage joint naval exercises in Pacific Taiwan: 2023-08-18 Tucker on Twitter, Episode 17: Vivek Ramaswamy interview Taiwan: 2023-08-18 China property giant Evergrande files for bankruptcy |
| Posted by:Fred |