{"id":5675,"date":"2023-04-10T15:49:29","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T15:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5675"},"modified":"2023-04-10T15:49:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T15:49:29","slug":"chinese-military-ready-for-battle-after-exercises-near-taiwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/asia\/asia-pacific\/china\/chinese-military-ready-for-battle-after-exercises-near-taiwan\/2023\/04\/10\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese military ‘ready for battle’ after exercises near Taiwan"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAIPEI,<\/span> Taiwan<\/span> (AP)<\/span> –<\/span>\u00a0The<\/span> Chinese<\/span> military<\/span> said<\/span> on<\/span> Monday<\/span> that<\/span> it<\/span> was<\/span> “ready<\/span> for<\/span> combat”<\/span> after<\/span> completing<\/span> three<\/span> days<\/span> of<\/span> large-scale<\/span> combat<\/span> exercises<\/span> around<\/span> Taiwan,<\/span> including<\/span> an<\/span> island<\/span> blockade<\/span> in<\/span> response<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Taiwanese<\/span> president’s<\/span> visit<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> .<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Chinese<\/span> military<\/span> has<\/span> previously<\/span> said<\/span> that<\/span> Joint<\/span> His<\/span> Sword’s<\/span> “combat<\/span> readiness<\/span> patrols”<\/span> are<\/span> intended<\/span> to<\/span> warn<\/span> against<\/span> the<\/span> autonomy<\/span> of<\/span> Taiwan,<\/span> which<\/span> China<\/span> claims<\/span> is<\/span> its<\/span> own.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> appearance<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> Shandong<\/span> aircraft<\/span> carrier<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Pacific<\/span> suggests<\/span> it<\/span> could<\/span> be<\/span> used<\/span> to<\/span> deter<\/span> foreign<\/span> forces<\/span> from<\/span> supporting<\/span> Taiwan,<\/span> says<\/span> the<\/span> government-backed<\/span> Defense<\/span> Intelligence<\/span> Institute.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“If<\/span> there<\/span> are<\/span> similar<\/span> military<\/span> exercises<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> future,<\/span> Taiwan<\/span> will<\/span> have<\/span> to<\/span> deal<\/span> with<\/span> them<\/span> alone,”<\/span> Han<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> total<\/span> of<\/span> 70<\/span> planes<\/span> were<\/span> spotted<\/span> transiting<\/span> the<\/span> Taiwan<\/span> Strait<\/span> between<\/span> 6<\/span> a.m.<\/span> Sunday<\/span> and<\/span> 6<\/span> a.m.<\/span> Monday,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> Taiwan’s<\/span> Ministry<\/span> of<\/span> Defense.<\/span> Among<\/span> the<\/span> aircraft<\/span> that<\/span> crossed<\/span> the<\/span> median<\/span> were<\/span> eight<\/span> J-16<\/span> fighters,<\/span> four<\/span> J-1<\/span> fighters,<\/span> eight<\/span> Su-30<\/span> fighters,<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> reconnaissance<\/span> aircraft.<\/span> Taiwan<\/span> also<\/span> tracked<\/span> down<\/span> her<\/span> J-15<\/span> fighter<\/span> docked<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> aircraft<\/span> carrier<\/span> Shandong.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>As<\/span> of<\/span> Monday<\/span> night,<\/span> Taiwan’s<\/span> Ministry<\/span> of<\/span> Defense<\/span> reported<\/span> another<\/span> 91<\/span> flights<\/span> by<\/span> bombers,<\/span> as<\/span> well<\/span> as<\/span> several<\/span> fighter<\/span> jets,<\/span> early<\/span> warning<\/span> aircraft<\/span> and<\/span> military<\/span> transport<\/span> aircraft.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>This<\/span> was<\/span> followed<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> discovery<\/span> of<\/span> eight<\/span> of<\/span> her<\/span> warships<\/span> and<\/span> 71<\/span> of<\/span> her<\/span> aircraft<\/span> near<\/span> Taiwan<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> one<\/span> day<\/span> from<\/span> Friday<\/span> to<\/span> Saturday,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> island’s<\/span> defense<\/span> ministry.<\/span> The<\/span> statement<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> was<\/span> approaching<\/span> the<\/span> situation<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> perspective<\/span> of<\/span> “not<\/span> escalating<\/span> or<\/span> creating<\/span> conflict.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Taiwan<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> monitors<\/span> China’s<\/span> movements<\/span> not<\/span> only<\/span> through<\/span> its<\/span> own<\/span> naval<\/span> vessels,<\/span> but<\/span> also<\/span> through<\/span> land-based<\/span> missile<\/span> systems.<\/span> China’s<\/span> military<\/span> harassment<\/span> of<\/span> Taiwan<\/span> has<\/span> intensified<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> years,<\/span> with<\/span> planes<\/span> and<\/span> ships<\/span> being<\/span> sent<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> island<\/span> on<\/span> an<\/span> almost<\/span> daily<\/span> basis,<\/span> in<\/span> increasing<\/span> numbers<\/span> in<\/span> response<\/span> to<\/span> classified<\/span> operations.<\/span> Since<\/span> Pelosi’s<\/span> visit,<\/span> military<\/span> activity<\/span> has<\/span> intensified,<\/span> with<\/span> Chinese<\/span> People’s<\/span> Liberation<\/span> Army<\/span> fighter<\/span> jets<\/span> regularly<\/span> flying<\/span> across<\/span> the<\/span> border.<\/span> PLA<\/span> naval<\/span> vessels<\/span> regularly<\/span> navigate<\/span> waters<\/span> off<\/span> the<\/span> northeastern<\/span> coast<\/span> of<\/span> Taiwan,<\/span> experts<\/span> say.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Meanwhile,<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> South<\/span> China<\/span> Sea,<\/span> the<\/span> US<\/span> 7th<\/span> Fleet<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> guided-missile<\/span> destroyer<\/span> USS<\/span> Milius<\/span> passed<\/span> Mischief<\/span> Reef<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> freedom<\/span> of<\/span> navigation<\/span> operation.<\/span> China<\/span> built<\/span> artificial<\/span> islands<\/span> under<\/span> the<\/span> sea<\/span> to<\/span> claim<\/span> sovereignty.<\/span> China<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> had<\/span> “illegally<\/span> encroached<\/span> into<\/span> waters<\/span> near<\/span> coral<\/span> reefs”<\/span> without<\/span> the<\/span> permission<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Chinese<\/span> government,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> statement<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> Chinese<\/span> military’s<\/span> Southern<\/span> Command.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Outside<\/span> of<\/span> military<\/span> exercises,<\/span> Kuo<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> was<\/span> concerned<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> Fujian<\/span> Maritime<\/span> Safety<\/span> Administration<\/span> announced<\/span> it<\/span> would<\/span> conduct<\/span> “on-site<\/span> inspections”<\/span> of<\/span> cargo<\/span> and<\/span> work<\/span> vessels<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Taiwan<\/span> Strait<\/span> as<\/span> part<\/span> of<\/span> patrol<\/span> exercises.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cThey<\/span> will<\/span> target<\/span> ships<\/span> traveling<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> Straits<\/span> first,<\/span> then<\/span> international<\/span> ships,\u201d<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span> \u201cGradually,<\/span> this<\/span> is<\/span> becoming<\/span> the<\/span> de<\/span> facto<\/span> new<\/span> status<\/span> quo.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> U.S.<\/span> official<\/span> who<\/span> attended<\/span> a<\/span> meeting<\/span> with<\/span> Tsai<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> said<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> U.S.<\/span> must<\/span> take<\/span> China’s<\/span> threat<\/span> to<\/span> Taiwan<\/span> seriously.<\/span> Republican<\/span> Speaker<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> House<\/span> of<\/span> Representatives<\/span> for<\/span> China,<\/span> Mike<\/span> Gallagher,<\/span> told<\/span> the<\/span> Associated<\/span> Press<\/span> that<\/span> he<\/span> plans<\/span> to<\/span> strengthen<\/span> the<\/span> island<\/span> government’s<\/span> defenses<\/span> and<\/span> lead<\/span> his<\/span> committee<\/span> to<\/span> lobby<\/span> Congress<\/span> to<\/span> accelerate<\/span> military<\/span> aid<\/span> to<\/span> Taiwan.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) –\u00a0The Chinese military said on Monday that it was “ready for combat” after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan, including an island blockade in response to the Taiwanese president’s visit to the United States last week . The Chinese military has previously said that Joint His Sword’s “combat readiness […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[2425,26,276,2443],"tags":[2219,3630,3113,3115,3119,3121,3391,3392,3394,3395,3583,3587,3625,3626,153,3627,1635,3628,2169,3629],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/chinatwan.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5675"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5675"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5677,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5675\/revisions\/5677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}