A group of U.S. lawmakers visited Taiwan on Sunday, and President Tsai Ing-wen said her government was committed to maintaining stability in the Taiwan Straight.
On Monday, the Chinese military unit responsible for the area adjacent to Taiwan organized multi-service joint combat readiness patrols and combat drills in the sea and airspace around Taiwan.
The exercises were a “stern deterrent to the United States and Taiwan continuing to play political tricks.”
Tsai said China’s military exercises had greatly affected regional peace and stability, and Taiwan was doing everything possible to safeguard stability and the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan infuriated China, which responded by testing ballistic missiles over Taipei for the first time and ditching some lines of dialogue with Washington.
Tsai’s meeting with Monday’s group of lawmakers was much more low-key than Pelosi’s, and the group left Taiwan late on Monday afternoon.
The United States has a legal, sworn oath to defend democracy, and the armament of Taiwan through the years has been part of upholding that principle.
However, in the past, China had a less sophisticated military than the current modern capabilities they have gained. One has to wonder if poking the bear makes sense, especially when most of the supply chain is still dependent on China.
For more on this story, please consider these sources:
- Angry China stages more drills near Taiwan as U.S. lawmakers visit Reuters
- China renews military drills around Taiwan amid surprise visit from US lawmakers Fox News
- China announces new drills as US delegation visits Taiwan The Associated Press – en Español
- China conducts fresh military drills around Taiwan as US congressional delegation visits CNN
- China announces new drills around Taiwan as a U.S. delegation visits the island NPR