By Nsikak Nseyen Taiwan President, Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday night called China’s military exercises off the coast of the self-govern...
By Nsikak Nseyen
Taiwan President, Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday night called
China’s military exercises off the coast of the self-governing island
“irresponsible not only for Taiwan, but also for the international community.”
Demanding that Beijing be “rational and self-restrained,”
Tsai, in a video address said that Taiwan would not seek to escalate tensions
with China further, but stressed that it would defend its sovereignty as the
People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continued a series of live-fire drills around
the island due to last until Sunday.
She added that the Taiwan government was working to ensure
safe and smooth operations at the island’s ports and airports, as well as the
stability of the financial markets, NAN reports.
According to Japan’s Defence Ministry, four Chinese missile
shells landed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone after flying over Taiwan.
However, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence did not
confirm that the missiles had passed over Taiwan, saying only that the military
was employing various early-warning and monitoring mechanisms to track missiles
fired by the PLA and had activated its defence systems.
Tsai thanked the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized
countries for calling on Beijing to refrain from “aggressive military activity”
in the region and for reiterating its commitment to stability in the Taiwan
Strait.
“We strive to maintain the status quo across the Taiwan
Strait, and always keep an open mind for constructive dialogues,” Tsai added.
The Chinese military kicked off major air and sea drills in
the waters surrounding Taiwan shortly after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
ended a visit to the island, which has drawn Beijing’s ire.
The exercises are set to end on Sunday.
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