TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) \u2014 China\u2019s military declared Monday it is \u201cready to fight\u201d after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president\u2019s trip to the U.S. last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201ccombat readiness patrols\u201d named Joint Sword were meant as a warning to self-governing Taiwan, which China claims as its own, China\u2019s military said earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe theater\u2019s troops are ready to fight at all times and can fight at any time to resolutely smash any form of \u2018Taiwan independence\u2019 and foreign interference attempts,\u201d it said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exercises were similar to ones conducted by China last August, when it launched missile strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan in retaliation for then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s visit to Taiwan, but have been smaller and less disruptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Military experts say the exercises serve both as intimidation and as an opportunity for Chinese troops to practice sealing off Taiwan by blocking sea and air traffic, an important strategic option the Chinese military might pursue in the event it uses military force to take Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) \u2014 China\u2019s military declared Monday it is \u201cready to fight\u201d after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president\u2019s trip to the U.S. last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201ccombat readiness patrols\u201d named Joint Sword were meant as a warning to self-governing Taiwan, which China claims as its own, China\u2019s military said earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe theater\u2019s troops are ready to fight at all times and can fight at any time to resolutely smash any form of \u2018Taiwan independence\u2019 and foreign interference attempts,\u201d it said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exercises were similar to ones conducted by China last August, when it launched missile strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan in retaliation for then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s visit to Taiwan, but have been smaller and less disruptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Military experts say the exercises serve both as intimidation and as an opportunity for Chinese troops to practice sealing off Taiwan by blocking sea and air traffic, an important strategic option the Chinese military might pursue in the event it uses military force to take Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chinese actions follow President Tsai Ing-wen\u2019s delicate mission to shore up Taiwan\u2019s dwindling diplomatic alliances\u00a0in Central America\u00a0and boost its U.S. support, a trip capped with a sensitive meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy\u00a0in California. A U.S. congressional delegation also met with Tsai over the weekend in Taiwan after she returned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China responded immediately to the McCarthy meeting by imposing a\u00a0travel ban and financial sanctions\u00a0against those associated with Tsai\u2019s U.S. trip and with increased military activity through the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChina wants to use any increase of diplomatic interactions between the U.S. and Taiwan as an excuse to train its military,\u201d said Kuo Yu-jen, a defense studies expert and director of the Institute for National Policy Research in Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beijing says contact between foreign officials and the island\u2019s democratic government encourages Taiwanese who want formal independence, a step China\u2019s ruling Communist Party says would lead to war. The sides split in 1949 after a civil war, and the Communist Party says the island is obliged to rejoin the mainland, by force if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Pelosi visited Taiwan, China conducted missiles strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan, while also sending warships and war planes over the median line of the Taiwan Strait. It also fired missiles over the island itself which landed in Japan\u2019s exclusive economic zone, in a significant escalation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The live-fire exercises disrupted flights and shipping in one of the busiest shipping lanes for global trade. This time, shipping and maritime traffic have largely continued as normal, Kuo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exercises this time have focused more on air strength, with Taiwan reporting more than 200 flights by Chinese warplanes in the past three days. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, citing the People\u2019s Liberation Army, said the exercises are \u201csimulating the joint sealing off\u201d of Taiwan as well as \u201cwaves of simulated strikes\u201d at important targets on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Monday, the PLA said its Shandong aircraft carrier was taking part in the exercises encircling Taiwan for the first time. It showed a video of a fighter jet taking off the deck of the ship in a post on Weibo, the social media platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The appearance of the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean suggests that it could be used to prevent foreign militaries from coming to help Taiwan, said Han Gan-ming, a research fellow at the government-backed Institute for National Defense and Security Research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the future if there\u2019s a similar military maneuver, then Taiwan will have to face it alone,\u201d Han said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between 6 a.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday, a total of 70 planes were detected and half crossed the median of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary once tacitly accepted by both sides, according to Taiwan\u2019s Ministry of National Defense. Among the planes that crossed the median were eight J-16 fighter jets, four J-1 fighters, eight Su-30 fighters and reconnaissance planes. Taiwan also tracked J-15 fighter jets, which are paired with the Shandong aircraft carrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Monday evening, Taiwan\u2019s defense ministry reported another 91 flights by bombers, as well as multiple fighter jets, early warning aircraft and military transport planes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That followed a full day between Friday and Saturday in which eight warships and 71 planes were detected near Taiwan, according to the island\u2019s Defense Ministry. It said in a statement that it was approaching the situation from the perspective of \u201cnot escalating conflict, and not causing disputes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taiwan said it monitored the Chinese moves through its land-based missile systems, as well as from its own navy vessels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China\u2019s military harassment of Taiwan has intensified in recent years with planes or ships sent toward the island on a near-daily basis, with the numbers rising in reaction to sensitive activities. The military activity has increased a notch since Pelosi\u2019s visit, with Chinese PLA fighter jets regularly flying over the middle boundary line. Experts say PLA navy vessels regularly navigate the waters off Taiwan\u2019s northeastern coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Monday evening, Taiwan\u2019s defense ministry reported another 91 flights by bombers, as well as multiple fighter jets, early warning aircraft and military transport planes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That followed a full day between Friday and Saturday in which eight warships and 71 planes were detected near Taiwan, according to the island\u2019s Defense Ministry. It said in a statement that it was approaching the situation from the perspective of \u201cnot escalating conflict, and not causing disputes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taiwan said it monitored the Chinese moves through its land-based missile systems, as well as from its own navy vessels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China\u2019s military harassment of Taiwan has intensified in recent years with planes or ships sent toward the island on a near-daily basis, with the numbers rising in reaction to sensitive activities. The military activity has increased a notch since Pelosi\u2019s visit, with Chinese PLA fighter jets regularly flying over the middle boundary line. Experts say PLA navy vessels regularly navigate the waters off Taiwan\u2019s northeastern coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, to the south in the South China Sea, the U.S. 7th Fleet said its missile destroyer USS Milius sailed by Mischief Reef in a freedom of navigation operation. China has built an artificial island on the sea feature to stake its claim to the disputed territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China said the U.S. \u201cillegally trespassed\u201d into waters near the reef without the permission of the Chinese government, according to a statement from the Chinese military\u2019s southern command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outside of the military maneuvers, Kuo said he was worried about the announcements from Fujian\u2019s Maritime Safety Administration from last week, when it said it would conduct \u201con-site inspections\u201d of cargo ships and working vessels in the Taiwan Strait as part of a patrol exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFirst they\u2019ll target ships traveling between the Strait, then they will target any international ship,\u201d he said. \u201cGradually this will become the de facto new status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the U.S. representatives who attended the meeting with Tsai last week said Saturday the U.S. must take seriously the threat China poses to Taiwan. Republican Mike Gallagher, chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on China, told\u00a0The Associated Press\u00a0that he plans to lead his committee in working to shore up the island government\u2019s defenses, encouraging Congress to expedite military aid to Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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