Beijing simulates strikes on Taiwan

Beijing has simulated precision strikes on Taiwan during a combined military exercise around the island, Chinese state media reported on Sunday. The maneuvers, involving an aircraft carrier, were launched in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s trip to the US.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said nine naval vessels and 71 warplanes had been detected near the island as of Sunday morning. It added that 45 aircraft, including fighter jets, surveillance planes, and drones, crossed into the island’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Taiwan’s own patrol planes, as well as Navy ships and land-based missile systems, were activated to “respond [to] these activities,” the ministry said.

Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command, said on Saturday that ships and planes were “encircling” Taiwan as part of the exercise. Shi described the drills as a warning “against the collusion between separatist forces seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ and external forces and against their provocative activities.”