The United States struck a note of caution saying that it was “monitoring” China as it continued its military drills around Taiwan for the second day on Sunday.
China began the three-day exercise on Saturday, a day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from the United States, where she met the speaker of US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, despite Beijing’s warnings against it.
“We are monitoring Beijing’s actions closely,” said a spokesperson for the American Institute in Taiwan, which serves as the United States’ de facto embassy in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, according to Reuters news agency.
“As we have said, there is no reason for Beijing to turn this transit – which was consistent with longstanding US practice and policy – into something it is not or use it as a pretext to overreact,” the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson further said that the channels of communication between China and US are open, and urged Beijing to show restraint.
Taiwan: China’s drills threaten regional security
“We are comfortable and confident that we have in place sufficient resources and capabilities in the region to ensure peace and stability and to meet our national security commitments.”
9 Chinese warships, 58 jets encircle Taiwan
Meanwhile, on the second of the military drills, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) dispatched 9 Chinese warships, and 58 fighter jets around the island, Taiwan’s defence ministry has claimed.
On Sunday, the ministry said it was monitoring Chinese military “movements through (a) joint intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance system”, adding that the warplanes detected until 12 pm local time (0400 GMT) included a mix of fighter jets and bombers.
Separately, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the military drills have “simulated joint precision strikes against key targets on Taiwan island and surrounding waters”.
It added that the air force deployed dozens of aircraft to “fly into the target airspace”, and ground forces carried out drills for “multi-target precision strikes”.
(With inputs from agencies)
