TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) 鈥 China employed a record 125 aircraft, as well as its Liaoning aircraft carrier and ships, in large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands Monday, simulating the sealing off of key ports in a move that underscores the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait, officials said.
China made clear it was to punish Taiwan's president for rejecting Beijing's claim of sovereignty over the self-governed island.
The drills came four days after Taiwan on its 好色tv Day, when Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said in a speech that China has no right to represent Taiwan and declared his commitment to 鈥渞esist annexation or encroachment.鈥
鈥淭his is a resolute punishment for Lai Ching-te鈥檚 continuous fabrication of 鈥橳aiwan independence' nonsense,鈥 China鈥檚 Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement.
Taiwan鈥檚 Ministry of 好色tv Defense said 90 of the aircraft, including warplanes, helicopters and drones, were spotted within Taiwan鈥檚 air defense identification zone. The single-day record counted aircraft from 5:02 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Shipping traffic was operating as normal, the ministry said.
Taiwan remained defiant. 鈥淥ur military will definitely deal with the threat from China appropriately,鈥 Joseph Wu, secretary-general of Taiwan's security council, said at a forum in Taipei, Taiwan's capital. 鈥淭hreatening other countries with force violates the basic spirit of the United Nations Charter to resolve disputes through peaceful means."
Taiwan's Presidential Office also called on China to 鈥渃ease military provocations that undermine regional peace and stability and stop threatening Taiwan鈥檚 democracy and freedom.鈥
A map aired on China鈥檚 state broadcaster CCTV showed six large blocks encircling Taiwan indicating where the military drills were being held, along with circles drawn around Taiwan鈥檚 outlying islands.
Taiwan鈥檚 defense ministry said the six areas focused on key strategic locations around and on the island.
China deployed its Liaoning aircraft carrier for the drills, and CCTV showed a J-15 fighter jet taking off from the deck of the carrier.
China鈥檚 People鈥檚 Liberation Army鈥檚 Eastern Theater Command spokesperson Senior Captain Li Xi said Monday evening that the drill was successfully completed.
Li said the navy, army air force and missile corps were all mobilized for the drills, which were an integrated operation. 鈥淭his is a major warning to those who back Taiwan independence and a signifier of our determination to safeguard our national sovereignty,鈥 Li said in a statement on the service鈥檚 public media channel.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing that China did not consider relations with Taiwan a diplomatic issue, in keeping with its refusal to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state.
鈥淚 can tell you that Taiwan independence is as incompatible with peace in the Taiwan Strait as fire with water. Provocation by the Taiwan independence forces will surely be met with countermeasures,鈥 Mao said.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it deployed warships to designated spots in the ocean to carry out surveillance and stand at ready. It also deployed mobile missile and radar groups on land to track the vessels at sea. It said as of Monday morning, they had tracked 25 Chinese warplanes and seven warships and four Chinese government ships, though it did not specify what types of ships they were.
On the streets of Taipei, residents were undeterred. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 worry, I don鈥檛 panic either, it doesn鈥檛 have any impact to me,鈥 Chang Chia-rui said.
Another Taipei resident, Jeff Huang, said: 鈥淭aiwan is very stable now, and I am used to China鈥檚 military exercises. I have been threatened by this kind of threats since I was a child, and I am used to it.鈥
The U.S., Taiwan鈥檚 biggest unofficial ally, called China's response to Lai's speech unwarranted. 鈥淭his military pressure operation is irresponsible, disproportionate, and destabilizing,鈥 Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement. 鈥淭he entire world has a stake in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and we continue to see a growing community of countries committed to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.鈥
"We call on (Beijing's government) to act with restraint and to avoid any further actions that may undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
China held similar large-scale exercises after . Lai continues the eight-year rule of the Democratic Progressive Party that rejects China鈥檚 demand that it recognize Taiwan is a part of China.
China also held massive military exercises around Taiwan and simulated a blockade in 2022 after a visit to the island by , who was then speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. China routinely states that Taiwan independence is a 鈥渄ead end鈥 and that annexation by Beijing is a historical inevitability. China鈥檚 military has increased its encircling of Taiwan鈥檚 skies and waters in the past few years, holding joint drills with its warships and fighter jets on a near-daily basis near the island.
Also on Monday, China鈥檚 Taiwan Affairs Office announced it was sanctioning two Taiwanese individuals, Puma Shen and Robert Tsao, for promoting Taiwanese independence. Shen is the co-founder of the Kuma Academy, a nonprofit group that trains civilians on wartime readiness. Tsao donated $32.8 million to fund the academy鈥檚 training courses. Shen and Tsao are forbidden to travel to China, including Hong Kong.
Taiwan was a Japanese colony before being unified with China at the end of World War II. It split away in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek鈥檚 好色tvists fled to the island as Mao Zedong鈥檚 Communists defeated them in a civil war and took power.
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Wu reported from Bangkok.
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