WORLD
China-Taiwan tension eases
Two-days of simulated encirclement and attack of Taiwan concluded.
China’s war games encircling Taiwan ended Saturday, defusing tension between Beijing and Taipei’s militaries.
The military drill simulating the blockade of the island lasted two days and involved 111 Chinese aircraft and dozens of naval vessels in the Taiwan Strait and to the north, south and east of the island, as well as areas around the Taipei-administered islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin.
The war games kicked off Thursday morning, as aircraft and naval vessels surrounded Taiwan to conduct mock attacks against “important targets”, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Tong Zhen, an expert from the Academy of Military Sciences, told Xinhua the drills “mainly targeted the ringleaders and political center of ‘Taiwan independence,’ and involved simulated precision strikes on key political and military targets.”
On Saturday, Taiwan’s presidency said the public could be assured it had “a full grasp of the situation and appropriate responses to ensure national security.”
“China’s recent unilateral provocation not only undermines the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait but it is also a blatant provocation to the international order,” Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo said.
Meanwhile, United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet his Chinese counterpart in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual gathering of defense officials around the world, on 31 May to 2 June.
Austin will also travel next week to Cambodia for talks with defense ministers of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN and end his trip in France, where he will join President Joe Biden in commemorations of the 80th anniversary of D-Day.