{"id":121088,"date":"2021-04-14T04:19:29","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T04:19:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=121088"},"modified":"2021-04-14T04:19:29","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T04:19:29","slug":"ahead-of-u-s-visit-china-terms-taiwan-exercises-combat-drills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/ahead-of-u-s-visit-china-terms-taiwan-exercises-combat-drills\/","title":{"rendered":"Ahead of U.S. visit, China terms Taiwan exercises 'combat drills'"},"content":{"rendered":"
BEIJING (Reuters) – China described its military exercises near Taiwan as \u201ccombat drills\u201d on Tuesday, hours before the arrival of senior former U.S. officials in Taipei on a trip to signal President Joe Biden\u2019s commitment to Taiwan and its democracy.<\/p> Taiwan has complained over the proximity of repeated Chinese military activity, including fighter jets and bombers entering its air defence zone and a Chinese aircraft carrier exercising off the island, claimed by Beijing.<\/p>\n Twenty-five Chinese air force aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers entered Taiwan\u2019s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Monday, the largest reported incursion by Taipei to date.<\/p>\n China\u2019s Taiwan Affairs Office said Taiwan\u2019s government and separatists were colluding with \u201cexternal forces\u201d, seeking provocation and to damage peace and stability.<\/p>\n \u201cThe People\u2019s Liberation Army\u2019s organising of actual combat exercises in the Taiwan Strait is a necessary action to address the current security situation in the Taiwan Strait and to safeguard national sovereignty,\u201d spokesman Ma Xiaoguang said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a solemn response to external forces\u2019 interference and provocations by Taiwan independence\u201d forces, he added.<\/p>\n The United States, which like most countries only officially recognises China\u2019s government and not Taiwan\u2019s though is Taipei\u2019s strongest international backer, has watched tensions mount with growing alarm.<\/p>\n Former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and former Deputy Secretaries of State Richard Armitage and James Steinberg arrive in Taiwan later on Wednesday, in what a White House official called a \u201cpersonal signal\u201d of the president\u2019s commitment to Taiwan and its democracy.<\/p>\n They are due to meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday, on a trip that could further strain Sino-U.S. relations. Tsai has repeatedly said Taiwan is an independent country called the Republic of China, its formal name.<\/p>\n \u201cWe resolutely oppose the U.S.\u2019 exaggeration of the so-called \u2018Chinese military threat\u2019 argument, and resolutely oppose the U.S. playing the \u2018Taiwan card\u2019 and continuing to send wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces,\u201d Ma said.<\/p>\n \u201cTaiwan independence is a dead end and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party are trying to \u201cuse arms to seek independence\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is to drink poison in the hopes of slaking ones thirst, and will only push Taiwan towards disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n