Taiwan defence ministry says China simulating attack on its main island

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Taipei,
Aug
06:
Taiwan
accused
the
Chinese
army
of
simulating
an
attack
on
its
main
island
Saturday,
as
Beijing
doubled
down
on
its
retaliation
for
US
House
Speaker
Nancy
Pelosi’s
visit
to
Taipei
after
announcing
a
suspension
of
cooperation
with
Washington
on
key
issues.

Relations
between
the
two
superpowers
have
nosedived
in
the
wake
of
Pelosi’s
trip
to
China’s
self-ruled
neighbour
—
which
it
claims
as
its
territory
—
prompting
calls
from
the
UN
for
an
urgent
de-escalation
of
tensions.

And
Friday
saw
the
environment
become
the
latest
victim
of
the
geopolitical
jousting,
as
Beijing
said
it
would
withdraw
from
a
series
of
talks
and
cooperation
agreements
with
Washington
—
most
notably
on
climate
change
and
defence
cooperation.

The
world’s
two
largest
polluters
had
pledged
to
work
together
to
accelerate
climate
action
this
decade
and
vowed
to
meet
regularly
to
tackle
the
crisis
—
a
deal
that
now
looks
shaky.

How
much
does
Taiwan
depend
on
China?

Beijing
on
Saturday
continued
some
of
its
largest-ever
military
drills
around
Taiwan
—
exercises
aimed
at
practicising
a
blockade
and
ultimate
invasion
of
the
island,
analysts
say.

Taipei
said
it
observed
“multiple”
Chinese
planes
and
ships
operating
in
the
Taiwan
Strait,
believing
them
to
be
simulating
an
attack
on
the
self-ruled
democracy’s
main
island.

“Multiple
batches
of
Communist
planes
and
ships
conducting
activities
around
the
Taiwan
Strait,
some
of
which
crossed
the
median
line,”
its
defence
ministry
said
in
a
statement,
referring
to
a
demarcation
line
that
runs
down
the
Taiwan
Strait
which
Beijing
does
not
recognise.

In
a
bid
to
show
just
how
close
China’s
forces
have
been
getting
to
Taiwan’s
shores,
Beijing’s
military
overnight
released
a
video
of
an
air
force
pilot
filming
the
island’s
coastline
and
mountains
from
his
cockpit.

Beijing
also
said
they
would
hold
a
live-fire
drill
in
a
southern
part
of
the
Yellow
Sea
—
located
between
China
and
the
Korean
peninsula
—
from
Saturday
until
August
15.

China’s
state
broadcaster,
CCTV,
has
reported
that
Chinese
missiles
have
flown
directly
over
Taiwan
during
the
exercises
—
a
major
escalation
if
confirmed.

China’s
68
planes,
13
warships
cross
median
line,
says
Taiwan

Taipei
has
remained
defiant,
insisting
it
would
not
be
cowed
by
its
“evil
neighbour”.

‘Punishing
the
whole
world’

The
scale
and
intensity
of
China’s
drills
have
triggered
outrage
in
the
United
States
and
other
democracies,
with
the
White
House
summoning
China’s
ambassador
to
Washington
on
Friday
to
rebuke
him
over
Beijing’s
actions.

Beijing’s
decision
to
withdraw
from
hard-won
cooperation
on
climate
change
has
now
sparked
wider
fears
about
the
future
of
the
planet.

“It’s
obviously
worrying
and
raises
concerns,”
Alden
Meyer,
a
senior
associate
at
E3G,
a
climate-focused
think
tank,
told
AFP.

It’s
“impossible
to
address
the
climate
emergency
if
the
world’s
number
one
and
number
two
economies
and
number
one
and
number
two
emitters
are
not
taking
action,”
he
said.

“And
it’s
always
preferable
that
they
do
that
in
a
collaborative
way.”

National
Security
Council
spokesman
John
Kirby
told
reporters
in
Washington
the
decision
was
“fundamentally
irresponsible.”

“They’re
actually
punishing
the
whole
world,
because
the
climate
crisis
doesn’t
recognize
geographic
boundaries
and
borders,”
Kirby
said.

“The
world’s
largest
emitter
now
is
refusing
to
engage
on
critical
steps
necessary
to
combat
the
climate
crisis.”

UN
Secretary-General
Antonio
Guterres
warned
the
two
superpowers
must
continue
to
work
together
—
for
the
world’s
sake.

“For
the
secretary-general,
there
is
no
way
to
solve
the
most
pressing
problems
of
all
the
world
without
an
effective
dialogue
and
cooperation
between
the
two
countries,”
his
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric
said.

‘The
new
normal’

But
with
tensions
over
Taiwan
having
risen
to
their
highest
level
in
nearly
30
years
with
an
elevated
risk
of
military
conflict,
experts
told
AFP
the
latest
downturn
in
relations
between
the
two
superpowers
could
be
deep
and
long-lasting.

“The
relationship
is
in
a
very
bad
place
right
now,”
said
Bonnie
Glaser,
a
China
expert
at
the
German
Marshall
Fund.

The
suspension
Friday
of
bilateral
military
and
maritime
dialogue
while
China
continues
its
military
exercises
was
“particularly
worrisome,”
she
said.

On
move
to
extend
China-Pak
Economic
Corridor,
India
says
its
inherently
unacceptable

“We
don’t
know
what
else
they
will
do,”
she
said.
“We
just
don’t
know
if
this
is
just
a
temporary
thing.”

John
Culver,
a
former
CIA
Asia
analyst,
said
in
a
discussion
hosted
by
the
Center
for
Strategic
and
International
Studies
that
Beijing’s
main
purpose
with
its
military
exercises
was
to
change
that
status
quo.

“I
think
that
this
is
the
new
normal,”
Culver
said.
“The
Chinese
want
to
show…
that
a
line
has
been
crossed
by
the
speaker’s
visit.”