Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China.
“All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said.
Photo: AFP, Coast Guard Administration
Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a press conference yesterday.
“Whether or not we hold exercises and when we hold them are decided by us alone, based on our own needs and the circumstances of our struggle,” an official social media account of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army quoted Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesman Colonel Wu Qian (吳謙) as saying.
“Safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, and the common interests of compatriots across the Taiwan Strait are the [military’s] sacred duties,” Wu said.
“No matter whether it holds exercises, the People’s Liberation Army will not be absent or soft-hearted when it comes to striking down [Taiwanese] ‘independence’ and pushing for unification,” he said.
Authorities this week said that Beijing’s maritime drills stretched from near the southern islands of Japan to the South China Sea.
About 90 Chinese warships and coast guard vessels took part in the exercises, which included simulating attacks on foreign ships and practicing a blockade of sea routes, a security official said on Wednesday.
There was no announcement from the Chinese army or state media about increased military activity in the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, South China Sea or Western Pacific Ocean.
China began planning the massive maritime operation in October and aimed to demonstrate it could choke Taiwan while drawing a “red line” for the incoming US administration, the security official said.
As Chinese ships have returned to China, the military and coast guard have closed the emergency response centers that were set up in response to the huge maritime mobilization, they added.
“The nine ships went back to Chinese ports last night in two groups,” Hsieh said of vessels that had been in waters to the southeast and southwest of Taiwan.
The CGA said it closely monitored the situation and that its coast guard vessels were deployed to shadow all of the Chinese ships in a one-on-one configuration.
Despite China’s attempts to provoke Taiwan by employing “gray zone” strategies, the nation was poised to defend its sovereignty and maritime rights, the CGA added.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS