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TAIPEI — China's Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said Thursday that the threat of force has not diminished, even as Beijing's largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan appear to be curtailed.
Infuriated by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit last week to China-claimed Taiwan, China recently launched ballistic missiles to simulate sea and air attacks. Deployed multiple aircraft and warships.
China said Wednesday it would continue patrols, but said it had "completed a variety of missions" around Taiwan, and that military exercises would continue despite continued pressure. hinted at the possibility of termination.
Taiwan also conducts relatively small annual exercises scheduled before a flare-up and aimed at preparing to repel aggression.
"Currently, the Chinese military threat has not diminished," Tsai told Air Force officers.
Taiwan will not escalate or cause conflict, her office quoted her, stating, "We will resolutely defend our sovereignty and national security and promote democracy. Adhere to the line of defense of principles and freedoms." said it had "decreased significantly".
However, several Chinese naval vessels were conducting missions off Taiwan's east coast and near Japan's Yonaguni island on Thursday, a source familiar with the security program said.
Yonaguni is the closest Japanese island to Taiwan, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) away.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said Thursday that it had spotted 21 Chinese military aircraft and six Chinese naval vessels in and around the Taiwan Strait, 11 of which had crossed the central line.
This was down from her 36 aircraft and her 10 ships detected the day before, with 17 aircraft crossing the center line.
``Military Provocation''
Taiwan has faced the threat of Chinese aggression since 1949, when the defeated Nationalist government of the Republic of China fled to the island after Mao Zedong's Communist Party won the civil war. have been exposed to
China has stated that its relationship with Taiwan is an internal matter and that it reserves the right to subjugate the island by force if necessary.
Taiwan's democratically elected government has never been ruled by the People's Republic of China on the island, so it cannot decide its future or claim it for itself. I have no right to do so.
"In the face of China's recent military provocations, the state's armed forces are at the forefront, and their tasks will become more cumbersome and the pressure even greater," Tsai added. .
The Chinese military has made no further comments on Thursday's military activity around Taiwan.
However, the two sides continued their war of words, with Taiwan repeatedly rejecting China's proposed "one country, two systems" model to bring the islands under Beijing's control.
Only the people of Taiwan can decide Taiwan's future, Joanne Ou, spokesperson for Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press conference in Taipei.
China had used Ms Pelosi's visit to Taipei as "an excuse to create a new normal to intimidate the people of Taiwan," she added Ou.
In Beijing, China's foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said "reunification" was inevitable someday.
"While we are willing to create a wider space for peaceful reunification, we will never leave room for all forms of separatist activity for Taiwan's independence. (Reporting by Yimou Li; Additional reporting by Martin Pollard of Beijing; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Raissa Kasorofsky, Robert Barthel, Andrew Cawthorne)
