A Chinese People鈥檚 Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft flies over the 68-nautical-mile scenic spot, one of mainland China鈥檚 closest points to the island of Taiwan, in Pingtan island, Fujian province, China August 5, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song
TAIPEI 鈥� Chinese aircraft and warships rehearsed an attack on Taiwan on Saturday, island officials said, in retaliation for a visit there by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that also saw Beijing halt talks on security and other issues with the United States.
Pelosi鈥檚 brief unannounced visit during the week to the self-ruled island claimed by China infuriated Beijing and has prompted unprecedented military drills that have included ballistic missiles fired over the capital, Taipei.
The Chinese exercises 鈥� centered on six locations around the island 鈥� are scheduled to last until midday on Sunday.
Taiwan鈥檚 defense ministry said multiple Chinese ships and planes conducted missions in the Taiwan Strait, with some crossing the median line, an unofficial buffer separating the two sides, in what the Taiwan military described as a simulation attack on the island.
Chinese warships and aircraft continued to 鈥減ress鈥� into the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Saturday afternoon, a person familiar with security planning said.
Off Taiwan鈥檚 east coast and close to Japanese islands, Chinese warships and drones simulated attacks on U.S. and Japanese warships, the person added.
Taiwan鈥檚 army broadcast a warning and deployed air reconnaissance patrol forces and ships to monitor while putting shore-based missiles on stand-by.
Its defense ministry also said it fired flares late on Friday to warn away seven drones flying over its Kinmen islands and unidentified aircraft flying over its Matsu islands. Both island groups are close to mainland China鈥檚 coast.
On Friday, China鈥檚 military said it conducted air and sea drills to the north, southwest and east of Taiwan to test is forces鈥� 鈥渏oint combat capabilities.鈥�
Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late on Tuesday, the highest-level visit to the island by a U.S. official in decades, despite Chinese warnings. Her trip has promoted a flurry of retaliation, including sanctions against Pelosi and her family.
Shortly after her delegation left Japan on Friday, the final stop of a week-long Asia tour, China announced that it was halting dialogue with the United States, including contacts between theater-level military commanders and on climate change.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking on a visit to the Philippines, said the cessation of dialogue on issues including narcotics and transnational crime, was 鈥渋rresponsible鈥�, and security contacts were vital to ease tension.
Blinken said China鈥檚 stopping bilateral links on the climate, in particular, would punish the world.
鈥淪uspending climate cooperation doesn鈥檛 punish the United States, it punishes the world, particularly the developing world,鈥� he told a news conference. 鈥淲e should not hold hostage cooperation on matters of global concern.鈥�
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told a media briefing on Friday that Blinken was spreading 鈥渕isinformation,鈥� adding: 鈥淲e wish to issue a warning to the United States: Do not act rashly, do not create a greater crisis,鈥� Wang said.
Jing Quan, a senior Chinese Embassy official in Washington, echoed that, telling a briefing: 鈥淭he only way out of this crisis is that the U.S. side must take measures immediately to rectify its mistakes and eliminate the grave impact of Pelosi鈥檚 visit.鈥�
鈥楩UNDAMENTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE鈥�
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby countered that China鈥檚 suspension of some communication channels was 鈥渇undamentally irresponsible.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing here for the United States to rectify. The Chinese can go a long way to taking the tensions down simply by stopping these provocative military exercises and ending the rhetoric,鈥� Kirby told reporters.
China has not mentioned a suspension of military talks at the senior-most levels, such as with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. While those talks have been infrequent, officials have said they are important in the case of an emergency.
Kirby said it was not atypical for China to shut down military talks at times of tension but 鈥渘ot all channels鈥� between military leaders had been cut.
鈥淧art of this overreaction has been strictly limiting its defense engagements when any responsible state would recognize that we need them now the most,鈥� said acting Pentagon spokesman Todd Breasseale.
Speaking in Japan after meeting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Pelosi said her Asia trip was 鈥渘ot about changing the status quo in Taiwan or the region.鈥�
Japan鈥檚 defense ministry reported that as many as four missiles flew over Taiwan鈥檚 capital, which is unprecedented. It also said that five of nine missiles fired toward its territory landed in its exclusive economic zone.
Kishida told visiting U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that he strongly condemned China鈥檚 missile launches as 鈥渁 serious issue concerning Japan鈥檚 security and the safety of Japanese people,鈥� the foreign ministry said.
Taiwan has been self-ruled since 1949, when Mao Zedong鈥檚 communists took power in Beijing after defeating Chiang Kai-shek鈥檚 Kuomintang nationalists in a civil war, prompting their retreat to the island.
Beijing says its relations with Taiwan are an internal matter and that it reserves the right to bring the island under its control, by force if necessary. Taiwan rejects China鈥檚 claims saying only Taiwan鈥檚 people can decide their future.