Tsai Ing-wen says Taiwan 'ready to respond' as Chinese military drills continue unabated

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen stated that the government and military are closely monitoring China's military drills and information warfare operations and are prepared to respond as needed. On August 5, she urged the international community to support democratic Taiwan and prevent the regional security situation from deteriorating.

In a post on Twitter, the Taiwanese President wrote, "China's deliberately heightened military threat is irresponsible to Taiwan and the international community. As this undermines the status quo in the Taiwan strait and creates high regional tensions, we solemnly call on China to act with reason and exercise restraint. Our armed forces have heightened their readiness and are closely following military developments."

Adding to the same, she added that to address China's intensive information warfare, Taiwanese government agencies are heightening their alert and called on private enterprises to step up their response measures. She further asked the international community "to support democratic Taiwan" and help in putting a halt to "unilateral, irrational military exercises".

China's military drills

On August 4, according to state broadcaster CCTV, China activated over 100 aircraft, including fighter jets, bombers, and over ten warships, deployed dozens of jets, and fired live missiles at Taiwan. The deployment was a part of a military exercise that lasted for two days and are set to end on August 7.

The Taiwanese defence ministry reported that the island's military is keeping an eye on the situation. On August 5, Nancy Pelosi said during a speech in Tokyo during the final leg of her trip to Asia that China had launched missile strikes against Taiwan using her visit there as "an excuse" and that her travel plans were not predetermined by the Chinese government. She reaffirmed that the US is in favour of stability and peace in Taiwan.

China's military drills aimed at Taiwan, including missile launches into Japan's exclusive economic zone, are a "significant escalation," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked on August 5. It is worth mentioning here that China's military drills were launched in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, which infuriated Beijing. Further, China's foreign ministry stated that Pelosi & her direct relatives would be sanctioned for her visit to Taipei.

Image: AP