Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - A day after a visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi that angered China, authoritie...
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| Image: Reuters |
According to the defence ministry in Taipei, China was scheduled to start a series of military drills surrounding Taiwan on Thursday in reaction to Pelosi's visit, some of which were scheduled to take place inside the island's 12-nautical-mile sea and air territory.
A senior ministry official said the possibility would "amount to a sea and air blockade of Taiwan" because it had never happened before.
China, which asserts sovereignty over Taiwan, declared on Thursday that any problems with the self-governing island were an internal matter.
Taiwan Affairs Office of China: "Our punishment of pro-Taiwan independence diehards, external forces is justified and legal."
The exercises, which include live fire drills, will take place in six sites that encircle Taiwan and start at 0400 GMT, according to China's Xinhua news agency.
Unidentified aircraft, most likely drones, flew over the area of the Kinmen islands on Wednesday night, just hours after Pelosi left for South Korea, according to Taiwan's defence ministry.
According to Major General Chang Zone-sung of the army's Kinmen Defense Command, two drones entered the Kinmen region on Wednesday night about 9 p.m. in a pair (1300 GMT). and 10 p.m.
"We fired flares at them right away to warn them off and scare them away. They then went backwards. We scattered them since they entered our forbidden territory, "explained him.
The heavily fortified Kinmen islands are located close to the city of Xiamen, off the southeast coast of China.
The defence ministry added that as tensions with China escalate, it was closely coordinating with other agencies to strengthen cyber security after its website experienced cyberattacks and briefly went offline late on Wednesday night.
Pelosi, who was Taiwan's highest-ranking American visitor in 25 years, hailed Taiwan's democracy and vowed American support during her brief visit, stressing that Chinese anger could not prevent world leaders from visiting Taiwan.
China summoned the American ambassador to Beijing and suspended a number of Taiwanese agricultural shipments.
On Thursday, as it has been throughout this week, security around the American Embassy in Beijing remained extremely high.
Although Pelosi has received criticism from Chinese social media users, there have been no demonstrative demonstrations or calls for a boycott of American goods.
"WILL NOT QUIT TAIWAN"
According to the island's defence ministry, Taiwan sent out jets on Wednesday to warn off 27 Chinese aircraft that were in its air defence zone; 22 of those aircraft crossed the median line separating Taiwan from China.
Pelosi landed late on Tuesday with a congressional delegation for her unannounced but widely watched visit, despite China's repeated warnings and coming at a time when relations between the United States and China are rapidly deteriorating.
President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, whom Beijing believes is attempting to push for formal independence - a red line for China - was addressed by Pelosi as she said, "Our delegation came to Taiwan to make clearly clear that we would not forsake Taiwan."
The message we are bringing here today is that America's solidarity with Taiwan is essential right now more than ever.
China has never abandoned using force to annex Taiwan and views it as a part of its territory. China was forewarned not to use the visit as justification for military action against Taiwan by the United States and the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries.
Pelosi stated in a statement released following her departure, "Unfortunately, Taiwan has been banned from participating in international forums, most recently the World Health Organization.
Pelosi stated, "While they may stop Taiwan from sending its leaders to international forums, they cannot stop world leaders or anybody from visiting Taiwan to show respect for its thriving democracy, highlight its numerous accomplishments, and reaffirm our commitment to ongoing collaboration.
