(Bloomberg) -- China sent large amount of military vessels into the waters around Taiwan in Beijing’s latest display of anger over a visit by the democracy’s president to the US.
China’s People’s Liberation Army has deployed vessels from three theater commands to waters stretching along the first island chain in a scale that is larger than Beijing’s drills in 2022, Taiwan defense ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang said on Tuesday. Sun did not give the exact number or locations of the Chinese vessels.
On Monday, China reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday, requiring planes to seek its approval for passage. Taipei has set up a response center and instructed troops to “closely monitor the enemy’s situation”, but there have not been live-fire drills within the areas as of Tuesday, according to Sun.
The ministry also added in the briefing that China’s recent activities not only targeted Taiwan. In 2022, China sent missiles, warplanes and warships around the main island of Taiwan during drills in summer after former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.
Beijing’s purported move came after Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te concluded his first overseas state visit, which included stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam. China has condemned the US for allowing Lai to transit in Hawaii because it opposes all official contact that implies statehood for the self-ruled democracy it claims as part of its territory.
China has made no public announcement of its naval deployments or airspace restrictions. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson declined to answer a question on the drills, saying Taiwan matters are “an internal affair.”
Lai went on his trip during a sensitive time as President Joe Biden prepares to leave the White House after repeatedly vowing to defend Taiwan from any Chinese invasion, muddying the long-standing US position of strategic ambiguity.
President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office casts doubts over such reassurances, adding fresh turbulence to a major flashpoint between the world’s largest economies as the threat of their new trade war looms. Trump has appointed several China hawks to key positions, a move that leaders in Taiwan have interpreted as meaning they will continue to have US backing.
During his brief stay in Guam, Lai spoke on the phone with House Speaker Mike Johnson about economic and security issues.
China has stepped up its military activity around the democracy of 23 million people in recent years. In summer 2022 and again in early 2023, the PLA carried out exercises after Lai’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, met top US lawmakers.
--With assistance from Allen Wan, Paul Abelsky, Samson Ellis and Cindy Wang.
(Update with latest Taiwanese defense ministry’s comments)
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