China announces military drills in Taiwan Strait

Taiwan has detected three warships and 13 Chinese aircraft around the island, as China’s PLA announced ‘United Sharp Sword’ would run April 8 to 10.

A PLA navy tugboat sails in the Taiwan Strait, past tourists on Pingtan island, the closest point to Taiwan, in China's southeast Fujian province on Friday. Picture: AFP

China announced on Saturday that it was launching three days of military drills in the Taiwan Strait, part of a ‘stern warning’.

The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command said “United Sharp Sword” would run April 8 to 10 for “combat preparedness”.

“These operations serve as a stern warning against the collusion between separatist forces seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ and external forces and against their provocative activities,” said Shi Yi, an army spokesman.

China views self-ruled Taiwan it as part of its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Saturday that it had detected three warships and 13 Chinese aircraft around the island, after President Tsai Ing-wen returned from the United States.

The Ministry of National Defence said three ships and 13 aircraft had been detected around Taiwan by 6am local time and “four of the detected aircraft had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southeast ADIZ”.

In a PLA statement, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the Eastern Theatre Command, said “United Sharp Sword” would involve police patrol drills in the Taiwan Strait, “to the north and south of Taiwan, and in the sea and airspace to the east of Taiwan”.

The exact location of the exercises was not specified.

Taipei’s defence ministry said on Saturday that Chinese military drills threatened regional “stability and security”, after Beijing announced three days of exercises following a meeting in California between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

China has “used President Tsai’s visit and transits in the United States as an excuse to conduct military exercises, which has seriously undermined peace, stability and security in the region,” the Ministry of National Defence said in a statement.