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It also showed an image of missiles loaded onto an F-16 at Hualien Air Base on the east coast of Taiwan.
In Beijing, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said Friday’s drills, about which he did not elaborate, involved the eastern theater command of the People’s Liberation Army.
“They are a reasonable and necessary action aimed at the current situation in the Taiwan Strait and protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Ren said.
Taiwan is a purely internal Chinese affair that does not admit foreign interference, he added.
“Recently, the authorities of the United States and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have intensified their collusion, often creating unrest,” Ren said, referring to the ruling Taiwan party.
Trying to “use Taiwan to control China” or “rely on foreigners to rebuild” is an illusion and is doomed to be a dead end, he added.
“Those who play with fire will burn,” he said.
Hu Xijin, editor of the China state-backed Global Times tabloid, wrote on his Weibo microblog that the drills were a preparation for an attack on Taiwan should the need arise, and that they were a valuable experience that enabled collection. intelligence on Taiwan’s defensive systems. .
“If the US Secretary of State or Secretary of Defense visits Taiwan, the People’s Liberation Army fighters should fly over the island of Taiwan and exercise directly in the skies above it,” he added.
China had threatened to provide a “necessary response” to Krach’s trip, straining the already poor ties between Beijing and Taipei and Washington. Sino-US relations have plummeted ahead of the November US presidential elections.
Chinese fighter jets briefly crossed the mid-line of the Taiwan Strait last month when U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar was in Taipei, and last week China conducted two days of large-scale drills off the southwest coast of Taiwan.
The United States, like most countries, only has official ties with China, not with Taiwan, although Washington is the island’s main arms supplier and the largest international sponsor.
This week, the US ambassador to the United Nations had lunch with Taiwan’s top envoy in New York. China’s UN mission said it had made “tough statements” about the meeting.
Reuters.
