tensions in the region have “unnecessarily” increased, the American State Department reported this Thursday (1st), urging Beijing to “cease its military pressure”. “China’s military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan and other countries in the region needlessly increase tensions. We urge Beijing to act with restraint, cease military pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in constructive dialogue,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
This week, Beijing launched missiles and sent dozens of fighter planes, warships and patrols to surround the main island of Taiwan in exercises condemned by Taipei, which said the maneuvers simulated a blockade of Taiwan’s main ports.
Taipei described the maneuvers as “highly provocative”. China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and threatens to use force to annex it. “The United States supports peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo through force or coercion,” Pigott said.
The American president said on Monday that China’s live ammunition military exercises did not concern him, downplaying the possibility that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping would order an invasion of the island. “I have an excellent relationship with President Xi. And he didn’t tell me anything about it,” he told reporters when asked about the maneuvers.
“I don’t think I’m going to do it,” he said, in an apparent reference to an invasion. “They’ve been doing naval exercises in this area for 20 years. Now, people interpret it a little differently.” Beijing’s show of force came after the Trump administration approved a US$11 billion military aid package for Taiwan.
The United States has been committed for decades to ensuring Taiwan’s self-defense, maintaining an ambiguous position on whether the American Army would intervene in the event of an invasion.
China’s latest military exercise was the sixth major round of maneuvers since 2022, when a visit to Taiwan by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi angered Beijing.
*With information from AFP
