Taiwan said China’s military exercises appeared to simulate an attack on the self-ruled island, the AP reports. Taiwan also detected 14 Chinese military vessels operating around the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said in a statement. Updated at 13.01 BST Important events Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature These are some of the latest images to be sent to us via news from Taiwan. Taiwanese navy ships are seen in the harbor in Keelung, Taiwan, on August 6, 2022. Photo: Jameson Wu/Reuters In this photo provided by China’s Xinhua News Agency, a member of the People’s Liberation Army looks through binoculars during military exercises on Friday. The Taiwanese frigate Lan Yang is seen in the background. Photo: Lin Jian/APA Mirage 2000 fighter jet prepares to take off at an air base in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on August 6, 2022. Photo: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA Updated at 14.38 BST US candy giant Mars Wrigley has insisted it “respects China’s national sovereignty” and apologized after an ad for its Snickers bar referred to Taiwan as a country, AFP reports. Footage of marketing for the nutty chocolate bar featuring South Korean boy band BTS quickly surfaced on social media in mainland China, sparking outrage. A statement from Mars Wrigley posted on the Snickers Weibo page said: We are aware that there are reports of Snickers related activities in some parts of Asia, please take this very seriously and we deeply apologize. The announcement adds: Mars Wrigley respects China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and conducts business in strict compliance with local Chinese laws and regulations. Taiwan is a self-governing republic but is seen by Beijing as a breakaway province that it one day intends to “reunify”. The Chinese embassy has warned Australia against meddling in its actions on Taiwan, saying “finger-pointing” at Beijing was unacceptable, Reuters reports. China has fired ballistic missiles during live-fire drills near Taiwan after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to the island earlier in the week. Taiwan’s defense ministry said Chinese ships and planes carried out missions in the Taiwan Strait, with some crossing the median line, in what Taiwan’s military described as a simulated attack on the island. Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Friday condemned Beijing’s “disproportionate and destabilizing” actions, saying she had expressed her concern to her Chinese counterpart at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia. The Chinese embassy in Australia responded with a spokesperson statement on Saturday, expressing concern and “discomfort” over the three countries’ comments. The announcement said: It is absolutely unacceptable to point the finger at China’s justified actions to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity. Updated at 1.40pm BST
Taiwan shuffles aircraft as Chinese jets cross median
Taiwan scrambled aircraft to warn away 20 Chinese aircraft, including 14 that crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the country’s defense ministry said on Saturday, according to Reuters. Taiwan said China’s military exercises appeared to simulate an attack on the self-ruled island, the AP reports. Taiwan also detected 14 Chinese military vessels operating around the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said in a statement. Updated at 13.01 BST Helen Davidson Helen Davidson in Taipei reports further midline incursions in military exercises: China’s military has gone ahead with its largest-ever military drills, targeting Taiwan in what the island’s government has called a simulated attack, including further incursions down the middle line and drone flights over Taiwan’s outlying islands. The global pushback against China’s live-fire drills, which began in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan earlier in the week, has also continued, with condemnation from senior US officials and Australian foreign ministers and Japan. Beijing strongly opposed Pelosi’s visit, which it said violated the “one China” principle, a domestic policy that describes the government’s territorial claim over democratic and de facto independent Taiwan. On Saturday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had spotted People’s Liberation Army (PLA) planes and ships operating in the Taiwan Straits, believing they were simulating an attack on its main island. Read more from Helen Davidson’s here: Experts told AFP that the latest downturn in US-China relations could be long-lasting. Friday’s suspension of bilateral military and maritime dialogue while China continues its military exercises was “particularly concerning,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China specialist at the German Marshall Fund. He said: We don’t know what else they will do. We just don’t know if this is just a temporary thing. John Culver, a former CIA analyst for Asia, told a panel hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that Beijing’s main goal with its military exercises was to change that status quo. He said: I think this is the new normal. The Chinese want to show… that a line has been crossed by the speaker’s visit. Helen Davidson Helen Davidson in Taipei breaks down what the implications of Pelosi’s visit mean for Taiwan and China: Things changed this week for Taiwan. When news of a highly controversial visit by US Speaker Nancy Pelosi prompted threats of retaliation from Beijing, most citizens shrugged their shoulders. China often bristles at foreign visits to Taiwan, which it claims is a Chinese province it will soon reclaim, and with which it tries to stop any international cooperation. Its tactical promises of countermeasures rarely go beyond some People’s Liberation Army aircraft flying in and out of Taiwan’s large air defense identification zone (ADIZ). But analysts warned that this time looked different. Beijing’s protests were louder and more threatening, leaving no room for either it or the US to back down without losing credibility. This time, something bigger should follow, they said. China did. Shortly after Pelosi’s arrival, Beijing announced military drills in six sea areas surrounding the main island of Taiwan, starting the morning after her departure and continuing through Sunday. The plan was unprecedented in how close the zones were to Taiwan, including some that overlap Taiwan’s territorial waters that extend to within 7 miles (12 km) of its coastline. Read more of Helen Davidson’s analysis here: What the implications of Pelosi’s visit mean for Taiwan and China Taiwan’s defense ministry said its navy was monitoring Chinese military vessels off its east coast. It comes after Taiwan accused Chinese aircraft and ships of conducting simulated attack drills on its main island on Saturday.
Summary
Here’s a rundown of the latest developments as 6pm rolls around in Taipei.
The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater command said it continued on Saturday to conduct joint sea and air exercises north, southwest and east of Taiwan as planned, Reuters reported. He said he focused on testing the system’s land attack and sea attack capabilities. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Saturday that China should not hold talks on major global issues such as the climate crisis “hostage” after Beijing cut off contacts with Washington in retaliation for a visit by its president. US House Nancy Pelosi earlier in Taiwan. this week. Blinken spoke in an online press conference with his Philippine counterpart in Manila after meeting with the newly elected president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and other top officials. Speaking at a rally in Wisconsin, former US President Donald Trump questioned why Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. He told supporters: “What did he do in Taiwan? It was China’s dream, it gave them an excuse. They were looking for that excuse.” Taiwan’s defense ministry accused Chinese aircraft and ships of conducting simulated attack drills on its main island on Saturday. Several batches of Chinese aircraft and ships were spotted in the Taiwan Strait, some of which crossed the median line – an unofficial buffer separating the two sides – according to the ministry. Taiwan’s military used patrolling naval vessels and placed land-based missiles on standby in response. A Taiwanese official in charge of various missile production projects was found dead Saturday morning in a hotel room in southern Taiwan, according to the official Central News Agency. Ou Yang Li-hsing, the deputy head of the military’s Chung-Shan National Institute of Science and Technology, was 57 years old. The cause of his death is unknown, CNA reported. The foreign ministers of the US, Australia and Japan have called on China to immediately stop military exercises around Taiwan. In a joint statement after meeting in Phnom Penh on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Australian and Japanese Foreign Ministers Penny Wong and Hayashi Yoshimasa “expressed their concern over recent actions by the People’s Republic of China that seriously affect international peace and stability, including the use of large-scale military exercises.” They also “condemned the DPRK’s launch of ballistic missiles, five of which the Japanese government said landed in its exclusive economic zones, raising tensions and destabilizing the region.” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Chinese military exercises near Taiwan pose a threat to regional security. Beijing announced four days of exercises that…
