Taiwan chancellor says China exercises part of invasion plan

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister said on Tuesday that China was using the military exercises it launched in protest against the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as an action plan to prepare for an invasion of the island.

Joseph Wu, at a press conference in Taipei, offered no timetable for a possible invasion of Taiwan, which China claims for part of its territory.

The chancellor stated that Taiwan would not be intimidated even if the exercises continued with China often crossing the unofficial median line in the Taiwan Strait.

“China used its military manual exercises to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan,” Wu said. “It is carrying out large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyber attacks, disinformation and economic coercion, in an attempt to weaken public morale in Taiwan.”

“After the exercises are completed, China may try to routinize its action in an attempt to destroy the long-term status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” the minister warned.

Such measures threatened regional security and provided “a clear picture of China’s geostrategic ambitions beyond Taiwan,” Wu said, calling for greater international support.

A Pentagon official said Monday that Washington stands by its assessment that China will not attempt to invade Taiwan for the next two years.

Wu spoke as military tensions continued after the scheduled end on Sunday of four days of the biggest ever Chinese exercises around the island – activities that have included ballistic missile launches and simulated attacks in the skies and seas around Taiwan. .

China’s Eastern Command announced on Monday that it will hold new joint exercises focusing on maritime attack operations – confirming fears by some security analysts and diplomats that Beijing will keep the pressure on Taiwan’s defenses.

Taiwan began its own long-scheduled drills on Tuesday, firing howitzer artillery into the sea in southern Pingtung County, drawing a small crowd of onlookers to a nearby beach.

China has never ruled out taking Taiwan by force and on Monday Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China is carrying out normal military exercises “in our waters” in an open, transparent and professional manner, adding that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory.

Taiwan rejects the claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide the island’s future.