Chinese military drills have invaded Taiwan's territory, says defence ministry, as Nancy Pelosi visit angers Beijing

August 03, 2022

Chinese military exercises near Taiwan have encroached on its territory and amount to a blockade of its sea and airspace, the defence ministry has said.

The exercises by the Chinese navy and air force are seen as a direct response to the 24-hour visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the most senior American lawmaker to visit the island in 25 years.

The Taiwan Defence Ministry said China had broken UN rules and it would counter any incursions into its territory.

It said the live-fire exercises in the sea and airspace around Taiwan were "endangering international shipping lanes, challenging the international order, undermining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and endangering the area".

And it accused Beijing of using psychological warfare, urging people to report "fake news" to the authorities.

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Taiwan - one of the biggest global traders - has asked ships to find alternative routes and to avoid the Chinese drill areas for the next four days - from midday on Thursday until the same time on Sunday.

James Chater, a freelance journalist and photographer based in Taipei, told Sky News that according to reports, the live-fire drills "are now taking place as close as 12 nautical miles from the Taiwanese mainland".

"That marks a significant escalation from any of the grey zone warfare that we typically see from China targeted towards Taiwan on an almost daily basis," he said.

Ms Pelosi had earlier praised Taiwan for being "one of the freest societies in the world" as she addressed the self-ruled island's parliament during the visit that has infuriated Beijing.

"Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy," she said in a short speech during a meeting with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, in the capital Taipei on Wednesday.

She added: "America's determination to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad."

Ms Tsai thanked Ms Pelosi for her concrete actions to support Taiwan and said the island will not back down in the face of heightened military threats.

The Taiwanese leader also told Ms Pelosi she is one of the island's most devoted friends and thanked her for her unwavering support on the international stage.

Ms Tsai added that Taiwan is a reliable partner of the United States and will continue to work with them to strengthen collaboration in security, economic development and supply chains.

The US house speaker's unannounced visit to Taiwan has attracted fierce criticism from China and prompted Beijing to summon the US ambassador.

Ms Pelosi arrived in Taipei late on Tuesday, saying that the visit showed the unwavering US commitment to the island that Beijing says is part of China.

"We commend Taiwan for being one of the freest societies in the world," Ms Pelosi told Taiwan's parliament.

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She also said new US legislation aimed at strengthening the American chip industry to compete with China "offers greater opportunity for US-Taiwan economic co-operation".

A long-time China critic, especially on human rights, Ms Pelosi was reportedly due to meet with a former Tiananmen Square activist, a Hong Kong bookseller who had been detained by China, and a Taiwanese activist recently released by China - before she departed for South Korea, the next stop on an Asia tour that also includes Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.

While Ms Pelosi is not the first house speaker to go to Taiwan - Newt Gingrich visited in 1997 - her visit comes as relations between Beijing and Washington have deteriorated sharply, and with China a much more powerful economic, military and geopolitical force than it was a quarter of a century ago.

China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory and and opposes any engagement by Taiwanese officials with foreign governments, has never renounced using force to bring it under its control.

Read more:
China warns US 'those playing with fire will get burned' as Nancy Pelosi visits self-rule island

The United States has warned China against using Ms Pelosi's visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters on Wednesday the military drills are legitimate and meant as a deterrent to Taiwan.

The Kremlin said the level of tension provoked by Ms Pelosi's visit "should not be underestimated".

Asked whether the world was closer to war, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters he was not in favour of using that word but reiterated the trip was a "provocation".

He added no additional contacts between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were planned in light of the visit.

Earlier, China's customs department announced a suspension of imports of citrus fruits, chilled white-striped hairtail and frozen horse mackerel from Taiwan.

The two sides, which split in 1949 after a civil war, have no official relations but do have multibillion-dollar business ties, particularly in the flow of Taiwanese-made processor chips needed by Chinese factories that assemble the world's smartphones and other electronics.

Beijing stopped short of disrupting the chips trade and other industrial components.

Chips are China's biggest import at more than $400bn a year, ahead of crude oil.

On Tuesday, Beijing's ambassador to London, one of his country's most senior diplomats, warned the United States it is performing a "highly dangerous trick" over Taiwan and "those playing with fire will get burned".

Zheng Zeguang made the comments in a news conference, hastily convened, to respond to the arrival of Ms Pelosi in Taiwan in defiance of Chinese demands to stay away.

He said the visit "seriously violated" a long-standing "one China" principle that means democratically-governed Taiwan must not be treated by the United States as an independent authority.

Mr Zheng also had a warning for the UK not to "dance to the tune" of the United States.

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