China's Second Day of 'Taiwan Encirclement' Military Drills... US Warns Against "Overreaction"

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (left) and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held a joint press conference after meeting on the 5th (local time) at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. This is the first official meeting between the Taiwan President and the U.S. House Speaker in the United States.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

China has continued its intense military demonstrations encircling Taiwan for the second day, escalating tensions. The United States warned China to "avoid overreaction."

According to major foreign media including AFP, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported on the 9th that within the past 24 hours, 71 military aircraft including J-10, J-11, J-16 fighter jets, YU-20 aerial refueling aircraft, H-6K bombers, and KJ-500 early warning aircraft, as well as 9 warships, have been detected around the island.

This is the same scale as detected the previous afternoon.

The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army announced that from the 8th to the 10th, it would conduct a three-day "Sharp Sword Joint Exercise" encircling Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait and surrounding air and sea areas, calling it a "stern warning against the collusion and provocations of 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces and external forces."

China's military has not eased its training posture; rather, it announced live-fire exercises in the Taiwan Strait off Pingtan County on the 10th, pushing tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait (China and Taiwan) to a peak.

In response, the United States has issued a strong warning against China's large-scale military demonstrations.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State said on the 8th local time, "Communication channels with the People's Republic of China (PRC) remain open, and we continue to urge restraint and maintenance of the status quo."

The spokesperson added, "We are confident that we have sufficient resources and capabilities to ensure peace and stability in the region and to fulfill our commitments to national security," and noted, "We are closely monitoring China's actions."

This is interpreted as emphasizing that the U.S. military has adequate power to respond to the current situation in the Taiwan Strait, thereby pressuring China.

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan, also stated on the same day, "We are closely monitoring China's actions."

Regarding China's criticism of the meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, an AIT spokesperson pointed out, "There is no reason for China to reinterpret or use Tsai Ing-wen's transit, which aligns with long-standing U.S. practice and policy, as something untrue or as a pretext for overreaction."

Taiwan strongly opposes China's military demonstrations, stating they negatively affect regional security.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense criticized, "The Chinese Communist Party is deliberately creating tension in the Taiwan Strait," and warned that it "will have a negative impact on international security and economic development."

Meanwhile, President Tsai visited Guatemala and Belize in Central America, transited through the United States to meet with Speaker McCarthy and others, and returned on the 7th.

Shortly after Tsai's return flight landed in Taiwan, the Taiwan Affairs Office of China issued a statement emphasizing that the so-called "transit" is merely an excuse and is in fact a provocation seeking independence and relying on the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.