These activities represent a major escalation in China’s efforts to change the status quo. They are provocative, irresponsible and increase the risk of miscalculation,” the spokesperson said. They also run counter to our long-standing goal of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, which the world expects.” China’s defense ministry said it conducted military drills as planned at sea and in the airspace in the north, southwest and east of Taiwan, focusing on “testing the capabilities” of its land attack and sea attack systems. Updated 04.01 BST Important events Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature
Taiwan accuses China of simulating an attack on an island
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. 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. “Multiple batches of Chinese Communist planes and ships conducting activities around the Taiwan Strait, some of which crossed the median line,” it said, referring to the unofficial border in waters between China and Taiwan. On Saturday, Taiwan also scrambled to warn 20 Chinese aircraft, including 14 that crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, Reuters reported, citing Taiwan’s defense ministry. 20 PLA aircraft (SU-3010, J-164, J-11*4, Y-8 ASW and Y-20 Aerial Refueling) and 14 vessels conducted an air-sea operation in the vicinity of the ROC on August 6; 2022. Check our official website for more info: pic.twitter.com/apjMe6IYMn — Ministry of National Defence, ROC 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) August 6, 2022
Chinese vessels repeatedly “press” into Taiwan’s neutral zone – reports
About 10 Chinese and Taiwanese naval vessels continued to remain near the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Sunday morning, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters. The source added that Chinese vessels repeatedly “pushed” into the unofficial buffer, while Taiwan’s navy remained nearby to monitor movements. Both sides have shown restraint so far, a source familiar with security planning in the region said, following similar naval maneuvers on Monday near the median line that separates China from Taiwan.
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of tensions between China and Taiwan. I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments. It’s getting close to 10am in Beijing. Here’s everything you might have missed:
Taiwan’s defense ministry accused Chinese aircraft and ships of conducting a simulated attack on its main island on Saturday. Several batches of Chinese aircraft and ships were spotted in the Taiwan Strait, 14 of which crossed the median line – an unofficial safety zone separating the two sides – according to the ministry. Taiwan’s military deployed naval patrol vessels and placed land-based missiles on standby in response. The White House condemned the escalation of military exercises. “These activities represent a significant escalation in China’s efforts to change the status quo. They are provocative, irresponsible and increase the risk of miscalculation,” a spokesman said. China has accused the US of interfering in Beijing’s internal affairs. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said the US should have stopped Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week. The Chinese embassy warned Australia not to get involved in its actions on Taiwan, saying “finger-pointing” at Beijing was unacceptable. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong earlier condemned Beijing’s “disproportionate and destabilizing” actions, saying she had expressed her concern to her Chinese counterpart at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia. Taiwan’s defense ministry said its navy was tracking Chinese military vessels off its east coast. China’s People’s Liberation Army command in the eastern theater said it continued on Saturday to conduct joint sea and air exercises north, southwest and east of Taiwan as planned. He said he focused on testing land and sea attack capabilities. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said China should not hold important global issues such as the climate crisis “hostage” after Beijing cut off contacts with Washington in retaliation for Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Speaking at a rally in Wisconsin, former US President Donald Trump questioned why Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. “What was he doing in Taiwan? It was China’s dream, it gave them an excuse. They were looking for that excuse.” 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. His cause of death was 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, officials expressed concern over China’s recent actions “seriously affecting international peace and stability, including the use of large-scale military exercises.” They also condemned China’s launch of ballistic missiles, five of which the Japanese government said landed in its exclusive economic zones “increasing tension and destabilizing the region”. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Chinese military exercises near Taiwan posed a threat to regional security and a “serious problem affecting our national security and the safety of our citizens.” North Korea has denounced Nancy Pelosi as “the worst destroyer of international peace and stability” after the US House speaker expressed her commitment during a visit to South Korea to achieve the North’s denuclearization. He also condemned her trip to Taiwan.
The Taiwanese navy frigate Lan Yang is seen from the deck of a Chinese warship during military exercises on Friday, August 5. Photo: Lin Jian/AP
