Taiwan urges China to stop “provocative behavior” amid increase in Chinese military activity

Taiwan’s government on Wednesday urged China to stop “proactive behavior”, citing an increase in Chinese military activity across the country following President Lai Ching-te’s first visit abroad, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported. Did.

Karen Kuo, spokeswoman for Taiwan’s presidential office, said Lai Ching-te’s recent visits to diplomatic aides are a common practice by Taiwanese presidents. Kuo said China should not use routine international exchanges as an excuse to launch “provocative” actions and urged Beijing to stop it, CNA reported.

he/she stressed that China’s behavior “endangers the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region and destabilizes global peace.” Kuo assured the people of Taiwan that the country’s armed forces had a handle on the situation and would work to protect national security amid the “provocations”.

he/she made the statement after China designated seven areas off the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces as “temporary reserve areas” of airspace from Monday to Wednesday. The Central News Agency (CNA) reported that this generally indicates that there will be military activities.

his/her statement came after defense officials in Taiwan said China had deployed about 90 naval and coast guard ships to waters stretching from islands south of Japan to the South China Sea, a massive deployment nearly The deployment is the largest in three decades, VOA reported.

Taiwanese officials said the move ‘appears to be a military exercise.’ However, as VOA News reports, China has not yet commented on these activities or confirmed that it is carrying out the exercises.

Addressing a regular press briefing on Tuesday, Taiwanese defense officials said, “Beijing’s operation is not only targeting Taipei, but is also aimed at disrupting its ability to deter regional countries, including Japan and the Philippines, from coming to the island’s defense.” To demonstrate.”

“The current scale is the largest compared to the previous four [Chinese war games]” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang said.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that in addition to improving its capabilities to deny access to a wider area around the island, China is also building two “walls” in the western Pacific, at the eastern end of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. Deploying large numbers of ships and an area beyond the Pacific.

Speaking to reporters, Taiwan defense official Hsieh said, “With these two walls, they are sending a clear message: The Taiwan Strait is their internal waters, and cross-Strait issues should be handled by the People’s Liberation Army [PLA] And the People’s Republic of China.”

Taiwan has been preparing for possible Chinese military exercises around the island since President Lai Ching-te departed on Nov. 30 on his/her first overseas trip to the Pacific, including stops in the US territory of Guam and the state of Hawaii.

China considers Taiwan a separate province and insists on the “One China” policy, claiming there is only one China, with Beijing as its capital. Beijing has consistently expressed its goal of reunification with Taiwan, while using diplomatic, economic, and military pressure to isolate Taiwan internationally. However, Taiwan, supported by a significant portion of its population, continues to maintain its independence.