Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1496971
14 WORLD maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 APRIL 2023 Chinese aircraft, ships remain around Taiwan after drills end CHINESE warplanes and navy ships were still in the waters around Taiwan, the island's de- fence ministry said on Tuesday after the end of three days of war games, as Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen criticised Beijing for its "irresponsible" behav- iour. China began the exercises on Saturday after Tsai returned to Taipei following a meeting in Los Angeles with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy. China, which warned the US not to allow Tsai to visit or meet McCarthy, has never renounced the use of force to bring the democratically governed island under Beijing's control. Tai- wan's government strongly dis- putes China's claims. Although China said on Mon- day night the drills had ended, Taiwan's defence ministry said it had spotted nine Chinese ships and 26 aircraft, includ- ing J-16 and Su-30 fighters, carrying out combat readiness patrols around the island late Tuesday morning. Taiwan's air force, navy and shore-based missile crews are closely monitoring and re- sponding, it added. Taiwan's government has re- peatedly denounced the drills, but said it will not escalate or provoke. Writing on her Facebook page shortly before midnight on Monday, Tsai said that as presi- dent, "I represent my county to the world", and that her visits abroad, including stops in the United States, are not new and what Taiwan's people expect. "However, China used this to launch military exercises, caus- ing instability in Taiwan and the region. This is not a responsible attitude for a major country in the region," she said. China simulated precision attacks and blockades of Tai- wan during the drills, sending up dozens of fighter jets and bombers. Taiwan's defence ministry said that on Monday, 91 Chinese military aircraft flew in mis- sions around the island. Taiwan's official Central News Agency said that was a record, though the defence ministry said it could not verify whether that was the case. The ministry published a map showing that on Monday Chi- nese aircraft crossed the Tai- wan Strait's median line, which normally serves as an unofficial barrier, to its north and centre. It also showed 15 carrier-based J-15s, most likely flying from China's Shandong aircraft carri- er, flying east of Taiwan. Taiwan has been tracking the Shandong in the Western Pacific since last week. Reporters on the coast near the Chinese city of Fuzhou on Tuesday saw separate, and much more low-key, drills tak- ing place, with a warship fir- ing at targets. Those exercises were announced before China's massed drills around Taiwan. Fuzhou sits close to the Tai- wan-controlled Matsu islands. 'Defend the country' Tsai said Taiwan's armed forces and coast guard reacted calmly and professionally to China's ex- ercises, and she thanked every- one involved. "Although China's military exercises have come to an end, the nation's military and nation- al security team will continue to stick to their posts and defend the country," she added. The exercises have also caused concern in Japan, especially as its southern islands sit close to Tai- wan and could become caught up in a conflict. The Japanese island of Okina- wa is host to a major US air force base, and last August when China staged war games to protest the visit of then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei, Chinese missiles landed within Japan's ex- clusive economic zone. Japanese defence minister Yas- ukazu Hamada on Tuesday de- scribed China's military drills around Taiwan as "intimidating training" to seize sea and air con- trol around the island. China appeared to have shown an "uncompromising attitude" regarding Taiwan issues through the drills, Hamada told reporters. Life in Taiwan has continued as normal despite the tensions, with no signs of panic or disruption, and civilian flights around the is- land, including over the Taiwan Strait, were also uninterrupted. Both Taiwan's ruling and op- position parties, in a rare show of unity, put out a joint statement from their parliament caucuses condemning the drills. "The people and government of Taiwan have the right to con- duct normal exchanges with other countries and contribute to the international community through international participa- tion," the statement said. "The Chinese authorities have no right to obstruct and cannot change the strong will of the Taiwanese people to go out into the world." Beijing restaurant customers next to a giant screen broadcasting footage of Chinese air force jets taking part in exercises around Taiwan on Tuesday