China's military carried out drills simulating attacks on Taiwan over the weekend.
The exercises come after Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen defied Beijing's warnings by meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week.
- About 45 Chinese warplanes carried out provocative maneuvers on Saturday.
- The
planes either flew over the median line, an unofficial border
separating Chinese and Taiwanese territory, or passed through the
southwestern part of Taiwan's air defense zone.
- 70 Chinese aircraft and 11 ships were spotted around Taiwan on Sunday, according to Taiwanese officials.
- Chinese officials said the drills, named operation "Joint Sword," will continue until Monday.
- Beijing
called the drills a "stern warning" and said China's military had
deployed "long-range rocket artillery, naval destroyers, missile boats,
air force fighters, bombers, jammers, and refuellers."
- The U.S.
State Department called on China to show "restraint" and urged it not
to use Tsai's trip to the U.S. as an excuse to "change the status quo."
- The Chinese government has viewed Taiwan as part of its territory since the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949.
- In late March, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said that
Beijing would view any meeting with McCarthy as "another provocation,"
that would harm "peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."
- China launched large-scale military drills near Taiwan after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in August 2022.
