China begins three days of military drills in Taiwan Strait

China has commenced a series of military exercises lasting three days around Taiwan as a response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, in California. China claims Taiwan as its own and has refused to eliminate the use of force to achieve its objectives. The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command declared that it would undertake “combat readiness patrols” until April 10, dubbed “United Sharp Sword,” which will comprise exercises in the Taiwan Strait to the north and south of the island and in the sea and airspace to the east.

The PLA emphasized that these military exercises were a “serious warning” to Taiwan’s independence separatist forces and external forces’ collusion and provocation, and a necessary action to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Tsai met McCarthy while returning from a tour of Central America, Taiwan’s two remaining formal allies, and returned home on Friday. Beijing had threatened retaliation even before the meeting took place. On Wednesday, the Shandong aircraft carrier was observed sailing through Taiwan’s southeastern waters on its way to the western Pacific hours before the meeting.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry has stated that it is monitoring the situation and will react appropriately to safeguard the island’s security. The Ministry also declared that China was using Tsai’s US visit “as an excuse to carry out military exercises, which has seriously damaged regional peace, stability, and security.”

On Friday, Beijing imposed tighter sanctions against Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US, Hsiao Bi-khim, and the Ronald Reagan Library, where Tsai and McCarthy met, but refrained from the more obvious reaction that occurred after the visit of McCarthy’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, to the island last August. On that occasion, China staged days of war games around Taiwan, including the firing of missiles across the island.

Analysts suggest that the initial, muted response to the Tsai-McCarthy meeting could have been because it took place in the US or because it coincided with a visit to Beijing by French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The PLA’s drills began shortly after Macron and von der Leyen, who were focused on the Ukraine crisis, had left.

On Saturday morning, Taiwan’s defense ministry stated that 42 Chinese planes and eight ships had crossed the strait’s median line, which usually serves as an informal buffer between the two sides. A delegation of US legislators, led by Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is presently visiting Taiwan and met Tsai for lunch on Saturday. McCaul stated that the delegation was in Taipei to demonstrate its support for the democratic island, while Tsai said that the people of Taiwan cherished democracy and sought peace.