China claims that on Thursday, it carried out “precision missile attacks” in the Taiwan Strait as part of military training that has raised tensions within the region to their highest point in years. These exercises have been going on for about a week.
China had initially confirmed that its navy, air force, and other departments would be conducting training operations in six zones encompassing Taiwan, which China asserts as its own landmass and will annex by force if needed.
I can’t stop thinking about Nancy Pelosi risking a World War by visiting Taiwan yet exiting the plane wearing a mask, which doesn’t work at all, to “protect” her from a virus she’s already had despite getting four shots. Perfect synopsis of our insanely stupid leaders.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 3, 2022
The drills are designed to publicize China’s threat to invade the self-governing island nation. They were triggered by a trip to the island this week by Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the United States of America. Along with its conciliatory moves to detach Taiwan, China has long warned of military retribution oversteps by the island to fortify its de facto autonomy with the assistance of important allies such as the United States.
“Long-range armed live fire precision missile strikes were carried out on selected targets in the eastern area of the Taiwan Strait,” the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army, the governing Communist Party’s military wing, said in a statement on social media. It went on to say that “the expected outcome was achieved.“
#Latest The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (#PLA) has deployed more than 100 of fighter jets, bombers and other types of warplanes to the northern, southwestern and southeastern airspace off the #Taiwan island. pic.twitter.com/gtUQTPAT66
— Zhang Meifang张美芳 (@CGMeifangZhang) August 4, 2022
The Ministry of Defense of Taiwan stated that they were able to track the launch of Chinese Dongfeng series rockets starting at approximately 1:56 p.m. on Thursday. It said in a statement that it had deployed a variety of advance warning systems in order to follow the ballistic missiles, which were aimed at waters to the northeast and south of Taiwan.
Previously in the day, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense stated that the country’s armed forces had been on high alert and were monitoring the situation while also working to prevent an escalation in tensions. In addition, exercises for civil defense have been conducted, and signs have been posted on designated air raid shelters.
According to the statement made by the ministry, “irrational action” on the part of China has the intention of upsetting regional peace and stability as well as the status quo.
As per the statement, “the three service branches will combine efforts with all of the people to jointly safeguard national security and territorial integrity while adapting to the situation as it develops.”
According to the official news agency of China, Xinhua, the exercises concentrated on joint operations that included “blockade, sea target assault, strike on ground targets, and airspace control.“
Even though the United States has not publicly stated that it will interfere, it does have forward-deployed forces and bases in the region, including aircraft carrier combat groups. The legislation of the United States mandates that the government consider any threats to Taiwan, including blockades, to be of “grave concern.”
The drills are scheduled to run from Thursday to Sunday and will include missile attacks on targets in the waters to the north and south of the island. This is an echo of the last main Chinese military exercises that were held in 1995 and 1996 with the intention of unnerving Taiwan’s rulers and voters.
Although China has not provided any information regarding the number of troops or military assets that are participating in the exercises, it appears that these drills are the largest that has been held in the region near Taiwan. According to Xinhua, the exercises included participants from the military branches of the navy, air force, missile force, tactical support force, and military logistics force.
This story syndicated with permission from For the Love of News
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