Chinese military conducts drills near Taiwan: Beijing
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China holds military exercises near Taiwan as tensions with Washington over Taipei soar amid Beijing's repeated attempts of warning the US against backing "Taiwanese independence".
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A Chinese military exercise in the South China Sea in 2018
The Chinese military has conducted several military exercises near Taiwan, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, the spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese Army, said Friday.
"The Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army recently held joint patrols of various kinds and types of troops and practical military exercises in the sea and airspace around Taiwan Island," Shi said in a statement published on the Chinese social media platform WeChat.
Colonel Shi noted that the United States has lately been taking continuous steps to support Taiwanese separatists calling for "Taiwanese independence", which he said was "absolutely useless and only harms peace in the Taiwan Strait and aggravates regional tensions."
He also stressed that Beijing's forces were ready to defend national sovereignty and security, as well as regional peace and stability by curtailing any attempts to organize "the independence of Taiwan."
Beijing's forces had conducted a military exercise off Taiwan toward the end of May with the goal of "warning" Washington.
China sees Taiwan as an inalienable part of its sovereign territories, being very vocal about its opposition to any official contact between Taipei and other nations.
The United States, on the other hand, has provided Taiwan with numerous weapon systems and supported pro-independence elements there.
Beijing's Foreign Ministry has reiterated on numerous occasions that the one-China principle was a political foundation of US-Sino relations, explaining that the US violated its own obligations and has been jeopardizing bilateral cooperation as well as peace and stability in the region.
Despite having stated that the US will not change its policy regarding China, President Joe Biden angered Beijing by appearing to signal a change in the US policy of "strategic ambiguity" on Taiwan.
In a contradictory statement, Biden noted in late May that "we agreed with the One China policy, we signed on to it... but the idea that (Taiwan) can be taken by force is just not appropriate," as the One China policy states that Taiwan is a part of the sovereign mainland.
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