China launches drills in response to Taiwan VP’s US visit
China launched military drills around Taiwan on Saturday as a "serious warning" to separatist forces in an angry 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 US, Reuters reported.
China considers Taiwan as its own territory.
The People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command, said in a brief statement it was carrying out joint naval and air combat readiness patrols around the island.
Taiwan's Defence Ministry said it had detected 42 Chinese aircraft and eight ships involved in drills around the island from Saturday morning and that it had deployed ships and aircraft in response.
Twenty-six Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the 100-km wide Taiwan Strait, or areas beyond each end of the line, the ministry said in a statement. For decades, the line served as an unofficial barrier between the two militaries.
The PLA's Eastern Theatre Command said it was holding joint exercises and training of naval and air forces, focussing on ship-aircraft coordination, seizing control and anti-submarine drills to the north and southwest of Taiwan to test the forces' "actual combat capabilities".
"This is a serious warning against Taiwan independence separatist forces colluding with external forces to provoke," it said.
The command released video footage purportedly taken on Saturday, showing J-16 and J-10 fighter jets and a naval destroyer on patrol.
In text accompanying the footage, set to a thumping orchestral score, it said the drills were to "test the actual combat capabilities of joint operations of forces in the theatre".
Equipment deployed included destroyers, frigates and fast attack missile boats as well as fighters, early warning and jamming aircraft that "assembled in a predetermined area", it said, without giving details.
The forces carried out "omnidirectional encirclement of the island", the command said.
Taiwan strongly condemned the drills, with the defence ministry saying it had the ability, determination, and confidence to ensure national security.