Taiwan strongly criticized China’s military exercises on Thursday after Beijing announced plans to carry out shooting drills off the island’s southwest coast. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has threatened to take it by force if necessary. Recently, Beijing has ramped up military activity near Taiwan’s waters and airspace.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry called China the “biggest troublemaker” for regional peace, labeling it the “greatest threat” to stability in both the Taiwan Strait and the broader Indo-Pacific area. In response, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported that within a 24-hour period, it had detected 45 Chinese aircraft, 14 naval vessels, and one ship around Taiwan, with 34 of those crossing into Taiwanese waters and airspace.
Taiwan stated it had taken appropriate action but did not provide further details.
Earlier this week, Taiwan reported that four Chinese coast guard vessels entered its waters near Kinmen Island, prompting Taiwan to send its own boats to escort them out.
Meanwhile, China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, shared that senior official Wang Huning had urged China to take a more active role in cross-strait relations during an annual meeting about Taiwan, emphasizing the goal of pushing for the “reunification of the motherland.”
In addition, Taiwan announced it had detained a Chinese-owned ship caught severing an undersea cable. Beijing, however, accused Taiwan of exaggerating the incident for political purposes before all the facts were verified.