Taiwan is grounding its fighter jets and putting missile, naval and land units on alert because of China’s military maneuvers

Taipei, Taiwan — Taiwan grounded its warplanes and put missile, naval and land units on alert on Thursday because of Chinese military drills around the self-governing island democracy where a new president took office this week.

The Chinese military said its two-day drills around Taiwan were punishment for separatist forces seeking independence. Beijing claims the island is part of China’s territory, and the People’s Liberation Army sends naval ships and warplanes almost daily into the Taiwan Strait and other areas around the island to wear down Taiwan’s defenses and intimidate the population, which is firmly behind its de facto independence.

China’s “irrational provocation has endangered peace and stability in the region,” the island’s defense ministry said. Taiwan will not seek conflict, but will not “shun one” either.

“This pretext for conducting military exercises not only does not contribute to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but also demonstrates its hegemonic nature,” the ministry said in a statement.

In his inaugural speech on Monday, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te called on Beijing to stop its military intimidation attempts and promised not to “give in or provoke” the leadership of the mainland’s Communist Party.

Lai has said he wants to maintain dialogue with Beijing while maintaining Taiwan’s current status and avoiding conflicts that could draw the island’s most important ally, the United States, and other regional partners such as Japan and Australia.

The People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command said on its official Weibo account that the land, naval and air exercises around Taiwan are intended to test the PLA units’ naval and air capabilities, as well as their joint strike capabilities to hit targets and obtain to test control of the battlefield.

“This is at once an effective punishment of the separatist forces seeking ‘independence’ and a serious warning to external forces committed to interference and provocation,” the statement said.

The PLA also released a map of the planned exercise area, which surrounds Taiwan’s main island at five different points, as well as locations such as Matsu and Kinmen, offshore islands closer to mainland China than Taiwan.

China’s coast guard also said in a statement that it had organized a fleet to conduct law enforcement exercises near two islands near the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen and Matsu archipelagos, just off the Chinese coast.

While China calls the exercises a punishment for Taiwan’s election results, the Democratic Progressive Party has governed the island for more than a decade, even though the pro-China Nationalist Party has only a one-seat majority in parliament.

Speaking in Australia, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Stephen Sklenka, deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, called on countries in the Asia-Pacific region to condemn the Chinese military exercises.

“It’s no surprise that every time there’s an action that puts Taiwan in the spotlight on the international stage, the Chinese feel compelled to make some kind of statement,” Sklenka told the National Press Club of Australia in the capital Canberra in reference to Monday’s presidential inauguration.

“Just because we expect this behavior doesn’t mean we shouldn’t condemn it, and we must publicly condemn it. And it has to come from us, but I think it also has to come from the nations in the region. “It’s one thing for the United States to condemn the Chinese, but I think it has a much stronger impact when it comes from countries in this region,” Sklenka added.

Japan’s top envoy made the remarks during his visit to the United States, saying Japan and Taiwan share values ​​and principles including freedom, democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law.

“(Taiwan) is our extremely important partner, we have close economic ties and people-to-people exchanges, and it is our valuable friend,” Secretary of State Yoko Kamikawa told reporters in Washington, where she was holding talks with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

She said the two ministers discussed Taiwan and the importance of maintaining peaceful flow of the Taiwan Strait, one of the world’s most important waterways for shipping.

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Associated Press reporters Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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