China Continues Taiwan Drills 12/30 06:23

   China's People's Liberation Army staged a second day of large-scale military 
drills around Taiwan on Tuesday.

   TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- China's People's Liberation Army staged a second day 
of large-scale military drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, unleashing a live-fire 
show of force as part of what it called "Justice Mission 2025" to demonstrate 
its ability to deter any external armed support for the self-ruled island that 
it has long insisted is part of its sovereign territory.

   Taiwanese officials said some of China's live rounds landed closer to the 
island than before.

   The maneuvers increased tension around the Taiwan Strait as 2025 drew to a 
close, but the impact extended beyond military pressure into everyday life. 
Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration was notified that seven temporary 
"dangerous zones" had been set up around the strait. The schedules of Taiwan's 
four international airports on Tuesday afternoon showed over 150 international 
and domestic flights had revised times, delays or cancellations.

   Xinhua, China's official news agency, posted a commentary late Monday saying 
the drills sent an unequivocal message: That Beijing is always ready to prevent 
anything that tries to split Taiwan from China. Each escalation, it said, would 
be met with stronger countermeasures.

   "By currying favor with the United States through obsequious loyalty 
gestures and promoting arms purchases, the DPP is binding the entire island of 
Taiwan to its catastrophic secessionist chariot, disregarding public opinion," 
it wrote, referring to Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

   The PLA's Eastern Theater Command sent destroyers, frigates, fighters and 
bombers to the waters to the north and south of the island to test its ability 
in sea-air coordination and blockading. Its ground forces carried out 
long-range, live-fire drills in the waters to the island's north. They also 
organized live-fire training alongside simulated long-range joint strike with 
air, navy and missiles units, in the waters to Taiwan's south, achieving what 
command spokesperson Li Xi called "desired effects."

   Hsieh Jih-sheng, deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence at the 
Taiwanese Defense Ministry, said some of the 27 rockets detected in the waters 
near Taiwan fell within its 24-nautical-mile (44-kilometer) line. "The landing 
points of rounds definitely were closer to Taiwan compared to the past," he 
said. "This is a message it deliberately wants to convey."

   130 aircraft and a Chinese balloon detected

   Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said Tuesday his territory would act 
responsibly by neither escalating conflict nor provoking disputes. He condemned 
the drills.

   Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it had detected 130 aircraft, including 
fighters and bombers, 14 military ships and eight other official ships around 
the island between 6 a.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday. Its forces kept monitoring 
and deployed aircraft, navy ships and coastal missile systems in response. 
Ninety of the Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the strait. A Chinese 
military balloon was also spotted, it said.

   The ministry later said it detected 71 aircraft, 13 military ships and 15 
coastal guard vessels as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, in addition to four other warships 
in the western Pacific. A total of 941 flights were affected by the drills, it 
said.

   "The military power is not necessarily the strongest, but the scale of the 
drills has become larger each time compared to the last," Hsieh said. He 
accused Chinese forces of trying to influence public morale and undermine trust 
in the Taiwanese military and government.

   China has vowed to seize the island, by force if necessary. Beijing sends 
warplanes and navy vessels toward the island on a near-daily basis.

   Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said the drills served 
as a stern warning to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and external 
forces, without naming any countries.

   He criticized Lai 's administration for what it called pandering to external 
forces and pursuing independence, saying that was the root cause of disrupting 
the status quo in the strait and escalating tensions.

   Last week, Beijing imposed sanctions against 20 defense-related U.S. 
companies and 10 executives, following a Washington announcement of large-scale 
arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion.

   Under U.S. law, Washington is obligated to assist Taipei with its defense, a 
point that has become increasingly contentious with China over the years.

   Beijing slams Japan

   On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that while he was not informed 
of the military exercise in advance, neither was he particularly worried about 
it. He touted his "great relationship" with Chinese President Xi Jinping and 
suggested he didn't think Xi was going to attack Taiwan.

   The Taiwan issue also heightened China-Japan tensions. Beijing has expressed 
anger at a statement by Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, saying its 
military could get involved if China takes action against the democratically 
ruled island. There remains widespread overall suspicion in China about Japan 
that goes back generations to when imperial Japan brutally took over parts of 
China in the years before World War II.

   Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi slammed both Japan and Taiwan's 
"pro-independence forces."

   "Japan, which launched the war of aggression against China, not only fails 
to deeply reflect on the numerous crimes it committed, but its current leaders 
also openly challenge China's territorial sovereignty, the historical 
conclusions of World War II, and the post-war international order," he said 
Tuesday during an event in Beijing. China, Wang added, "must be highly vigilant 
against the resurgence of Japanese militarism."

   China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when the 
Communist Party rose to power in Beijing following a civil war. Defeated 
Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan, which later transitioned from martial 
law to multiparty democracy.

   Stoking the tensions, China's Eastern Theater Command posted a series of 
online images and videos carrying provocative language throughout the 
exercises. It posted a video of live rounds being fired from ships and a 
ground-based launcher on Tuesday.

   Chen Wen-chin, chairman of the Keelung District Fishermen's Association in 
Taiwan, said the group started radio broadcasting every hour from Monday to 
inform fishers about where China's exercises took place, urging them to avoid 
danger.

   "The Chinese military exercises have prevented fishermen from fishing, which 
is their livelihood," Chen said. "The inability to fish has had a significant 
impact on them and caused economic losses."