US, Australia, Japan urge China to 'immediately cease' military exercises; Taiwan issues call for international support

A separate post from the Taiwan Defence Ministry said that 20 People's Liberation Army aircrafts and and 14 vessels conducted an air-sea operation on the surrounding area of the Republic of China on Saturday. The ​​self-ruled island's armed forces had issued an alert, dispatched air and naval patrols, and activated land-based missile systems in response to the situation. Taiwan said that China's military drills appear to simulate an attack against the territory.
​A customer watches a news report on the recent tensions between China and Taiwan at a beauty salon in Taipei​

A customer watches a news report on the recent tensions between China and Taiwan at a beauty salon in Taipei

Photo : AP
Taipei: As China continues to hold live military drills close to the Taiwan coast, President Tsai Ing-wen has issued a call for international support. Meanwhile, the United States, Australia and Japan have urged China to immediately cease its military exercises and reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The developments come mere days after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's high-stakes visit to Taipei sparked off a diplomatic row.
"Our government and military are closely monitoring China's military exercises and information warfare operations, ready to respond as necessary. I call on the international community to support democratic Taiwan and halt any escalation of the regional security situation," the Taiwan President tweeted.
A separate post from the Taiwan Defence Ministry said that 20 People's Liberation Army aircrafts and and 14 vessels conducted an air-sea operation on the surrounding area of the Republic of China on Saturday. The self-ruled island's armed forces had issued an alert, dispatched air and naval patrols, and activated land-based missile systems in response to the situation. Taiwan said that China's military drills appear to simulate an attack against the territory.
The scale of the military drills has led to speculation that China may be getting ready for an invasion of Taiwan - reports that have since been downplayed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In a major deviation from norm, some of the Chinese aircrafts and vessels had also crossed the sensitive median line in the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from the Chinese mainland.
"The Secretary and the Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. They appreciated ASEAN's statement about the importance of deescalating tension in the Taiwan Strait...They condemned the PRC's launch of ballistic missiles, five of which the Japanese government reported landed in its exclusive economic zones, raising tension and destabilising the region...(They) urged the PRC to immediately cease the military exercises," said a joint statement issued by the US, Australia and Japan.
The statement was issued by US Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa after their in-person meeting in Phnom Penh on the margins of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
Wang, who attended the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Phnom Penh was quoted in the official media as saying that the usual tactic of the US is that it will first create the problems, and then use them to achieve their goal. He has warned the other country to not stir up a bigger crisis over Taiwan while defending the unprecedented military drills.
China has also halted co-operation with the US in several key areas including climate change, military affairs and efforts to combat international crime.
Blinken meanwhile told the media on Friday that China's military drills around Taiwan in response to Pelosi's visit to the self-ruled island is a disproportionate and unjustified escalation. "There is no justification for this extreme, disproportionate and escalatory military response," he said, contending that China had now "taken dangerous acts to a new level".
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