Even in the run-up to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, there are signs of massive Chinese troop movements around Taiwan. After the US top politician has landed, China's military becomes active - a deterrent maneuver in the direction of the USA.
After US politician Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan, China accused the government in Washington of "playing with fire". The US actions in Taiwan are "extremely dangerous," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Whoever plays with fire will perish," the ministry said. In response, China announced target practice maneuvers in six sea areas around the Democratic Island Republic.
According to state television, the Ministry of Defense in Beijing announced that the maneuvers will begin this Tuesday and should last until Sunday. The maneuvers served as "a serious deterrent to the recent escalation of negative US moves on the Taiwan issue and a stern warning to pro-independence forces that want secession," the spokesman said. It is about repelling "the interference of foreign forces and separatist attempts by independence forces in Taiwan".
The drills were aimed at vigorously defending China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the spokesman said. State media published a map with six sea areas around the island, which has a population of 23 million. "The People's Liberation Army of China is on high alert and will respond with a series of targeted military actions," a Defense Ministry spokesman said after Pelosi's landing.
Beijing has made it clear several times in the past few days that it would view Pelosi's visit to Taiwan as a provocation. Regardless, the 82-year-old, who holds the third-highest office in the United States as Speaker of the House of Representatives, landed in Taipei.
Shortly before Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, Chinese warplanes flew over the Taiwan Strait, according to Chinese state television. It is therefore a type SU-35 machine, as reported by the broadcaster CCTV. How many there were and what their destination was not disclosed.
In the run-up to the visit, China had announced consequences in unusually sharp words, which also left open a possible military action. Taiwan said, just hours before Pelosi's arrival, that if tensions rose, appropriate forces would be deployed in response to "enemy threats".
From the point of view of the Chinese leadership, Taiwan is part of the People's Republic, although it was already governed independently before it was founded in 1949. The island, which has a population of 23 million, has long considered itself independent. Referring to its "One China Doctrine," Beijing firmly rejects official contacts from other countries to Taipei. The US administration has stressed that Pelosi's visit does not change the United States' one China policy.
