Following a meeting between its president and the speaker of the US House, China on Saturday began conducting military exercises all around the self-governing island in what it described as a “stern message” to Taiwan’s authorities.
The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command stated in a statement that the three-day exercise, known as “Union Sharp Sword,” will continue through Monday and, according to state media, includes practicing an encirclement of Taiwan.
In response to “continuing authoritarian expansionism,” Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen swiftly blasted the drills and vowed to cooperate with “the US and other like-minded nations.”
According to Shi Yin, a PLA spokesman, China’s war games will involve sending people, ships, and aircraft into “the maritime areas and air space of the Taiwan Strait, off the northern and southern shores of the island, and to the island’s east.”