Taiwan accused China of continuously undermining the international order, following the second day of the Chinese military drills around the island on Tuesday (Dec. 30).
Beijing fired rockets toward the island today and deployed new amphibious assault ships alongside bomber aircraft and warships to encircle the island.
Taiwan Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General said, “Such actions fully demonstrate that China not only fails to uphold global and regional peace and stability, but also repeatedly challenges the principles in the United Nations Charter regarding the prohibition of the use of threats and force, continuously undermining the international order and the status quo in the region.”
The 2-day drills are the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ‘s most extensive war games aimed at rehearsing a blockade of Taiwan.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to be ready to take Taiwan by force if necessary, according to US Intelligence.
CCP considers Taiwan as its own territory, although the country has a democratically-elected government.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it had detected 130 aircraft, including fighters and bombers, 14 military ships and eight other official ships around the island between 6 a.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday. 90 of the Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the strait. A Chinese military balloon was also spotted.
The ministry also said its forces kept monitoring and deployed aircraft, navy ships and coastal missile systems in response.
It also detected 77 aircraft, 17 military ships and eight official ships around Taiwan between 6 a.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday. 35 of the aircraft crossed the median line. A total of 941 flights were affected by Tuesday’s drills, it added.
The drills are named Justice Mission 2025. They began 11 days after the US announced a record over $11 billion arms package to Taiwan.
They are the CCP’s largest exercises to date by total coverage and proximity to Taiwan.
US President Donald Trump yesterday dismissed the CCP drills yesterday, saying they have been doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area.
