China-Taiwan news: White House calls Chinese drills ‘provocative’ and ‘irresponsible’ – live

From 5h ago

China’s military drills ‘provocative’ and ‘irresponsible’, US says

A White House spokesperson has said China is trying to “change the status quo” through its military drills around Taiwan.

These activities are a significant escalation in China’s efforts to change the status quo. They are provocative, irresponsible, and raise the risk of miscalculation,” the spokesperson said.
They are also at odds with our longstanding goal of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is what the world expects.”

China’s defence ministry said it had carried out military exercises as planned in the sea and airspaces to the north, south-west, and east of Taiwan, with a focus on “testing the capabilities” of its land strike and sea assault systems.

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It is 3.30pm in Taiwan, and here is a summary of the latest situation.

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China again conducted military drills and exercises around Taiwan on Sunday. The four day show of military strength had been a response to US politician Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the disputed territory earlier in the week.

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Taiwan’s defence ministry earlier said it has sent aircraft and ships to “appropriately” react to Chinese military drills around the island.

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China’s navigational warnings and NOTAMs for military exercises around Taiwan have expired, excluding in one area, and China didn’t extend those exercises as some had previously thought they might.

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Taiwan’s transport ministry said flights through its airspace had gradually resumed on Sunday about noon as most notifications for Chinese military drills near the island were “no longer in effect”.

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Taiwan’s mainland affairs council (MAC) – which sets policy towards the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – has called on Beijing authorities to “exercise restraint and immediately stop all of its belligerent behaviours”. The council accused the PRC of continuing with its military exercises around Taiwan “as part of a simulation for an attack and a blockade in order to intimidate Taiwan and neighbouring countries”.

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Taiwan’s Premier Su Tseng-chang says China has “arrogantly” used military actions to disrupt regional peace and stability. Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Sunday, Su also called on Beijing to not flex its military muscles, and condemned “foreign enemies” he said were attempting to sap the morale of the Taiwanese people through cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.

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A White House spokesperson has said China is trying to “change the status quo” through its military drills around Taiwan.

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Taiwan’s top diplomat in the US has said the self-governing island has been “bullied, marginalised and isolated from the world” for too long and maintained its people would not surrender their freedom.

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Beijing has announced it will hold further military exercises near the southern part of the Yellow Sea and Bohai, near South Korea. The exercises are expected to start on Monday 8 August and last until 8 September.

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Chinese diplomats continue in their campaign to lay the blame on the US and accuse Washington of causing chaos in the region. On Saturday, Hua Chunying, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, accused the US of interfering in Beijing’s internal affairs. Chunying also said the US should have stopped Pelosi’s visit.

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This is Martin Belam here in London, and I will be bringing you any further reaction to China’s military exercises as it develops. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com

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A top US diplomat warned Pacific Islands of a new struggle against violent power-hungry regimes on Sunday, as she visited the Solomon Islands to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II’s Battle of Guadalcanal.

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US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman said a new crop of world leaders are reviving “bankrupt” ideas about the use of force, according to a recent report from Agence France-Presse.

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Visiting a battlefield memorial in the Solomon Islands, Sherman said “some around the world” had forgotten the cost of war, or were ignoring the lessons of the past.

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She hit out at “leaders who believe that coercion, pressure, and violence are tools to be used with impunity”, without citing any leader by name.

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Painting the situation today as carrying faint echoes of the fight against Nazism and Imperial Japan in the 1930-40s, Sherman urged the region to push back.

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We remember how bankrupt, how empty, such views were then, and remain today,” she said.
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Today we are once again engaged in a different kind of struggle – a struggle that will go on for some time to come.”
\n

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Sherman told her hosts “it is up to us to decide if we want to continue having societies where people are free to speak their minds.”

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It is time, she said, to decide “if we want to have governments that are transparent and accountable to their people.”

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China appears set to wrap up its largest-ever military exercises surrounding Taiwan later today.

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It has deployed fighter jets, warships and ballistic missiles around Taiwan in what analysts have described as practising a blockade and ultimate invasion of the island.

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Those exercises are set to wrap up Sunday, though Beijing has announced fresh drills in the Yellow Sea – located between China and the Korean peninsula – to take place until 15 August.

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According to some unconfirmed reports, China has lifted its no-go notices for drill areas.

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China’s navigational warnings and NOTAMs for military exercises around Taiwan have expired, excluding one area, and China didn’t extend those exercises as some previously thought, according to regional military analysts.

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Chinese diplomats continue in their campaign to lay the blame on the US and accuse Washington of causing chaos in the region.

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On Saturday, Hua Chunying, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, accused the US of interfering in Beijing’s internal affairs.

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Chunying also said the US should have stopped Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week.

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She added that the US needs to stop trying to “hollow out” the one-China policy. This refers to an arrangement dating back to the 1970s that countries can maintain formal diplomatic relations with China or Taiwan, but not both.

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Talking about "responsible" @StateDept, the US should have stopped #Pelosi's visit to #Taiwan and stop showing muscles at China’s doorsteps, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs,…
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) August 6, 2022

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China’s former ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, has also just posted a lengthy series of tweets in which he quotes China’s foreign minister, Yang Wi.

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In total disregard of the firm opposition and repeated representations of the Chinese side and with the condonement and even arrangement of the US government, Pelosi went ahead with the visit to China’s Taiwan region.
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This reckless move seriously undermined China’s sovereignty, seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs, seriously violated the commitments by the US, seriously jeopardised peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. It is only natural that China makes a firm response.
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Our position is justified, reasonable and legal; our measures are firm, strong and measured; and our military exercises are open, transparent and professional. They are consistent with domestic and international laws, as well as international practices.
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They are aimed at sending a warning to the perpetrator and punishing the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces. We will firmly safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, resolutely stop the United States’ attempt to use the Taiwan card to contain China.
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We will firmly shatter the Taiwan authorities’ illusion to pursue Taiwan independence by soliciting the support of the US. At the same time, we are upholding the international law and the basic norms governing international relations, particularly non-interference in countries’ internal affairs.
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This is the most important international norm enshrined in the UN Charter. If the principle of non-interference is discarded, the world will return to the law of the jungle, the UshnaShah will become even more unscrupulous in treating and bullying other countries.”
\n

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Wang Yi: In total disregard of the firm opposition and repeated representations of the #Chinese side and with the condonement and even arrangement of the #US government, #Pelosi went ahead with the visit to China's #Taiwan region.
— 刘晓明Liu Xiaoming (@AmbLiuXiaoMing) August 7, 2022

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Chinese diplomats continue in their campaign to lay the blame on the US and accuse Washington of causing chaos in the region.

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China’s ambassador to Asean, Deng Xijun, has provided a summary of foreign minister Wang Yi’s press conference after attending the series of foreign ministers’ meetings on East Asia cooperation in Phnom Penh.

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Wang pointed out that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in total disregard of the firm opposition and repeated representations of the Chinese side and with the condonement and even arrangement of the US government, went ahead with the visit to China’s Taiwan region.
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It is only natural that China makes a firm response. Our position is justified, reasonable and legal; our measures are firm, strong and measured; and our military exercises are open, transparent and professional.
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In response to the US argument that a visit to Taiwan by the House Speaker is not without precedence, Wang stressed that the visit of then Speaker Newt Gingrich to Taiwan is a terrible mistake, and the Chinese government vehemently opposed it at the time.
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Wang called on all parties to stay highly vigilant against the reported US expansion of military deployment in the region. The typical US playbook is to create a problem first, then use that to achieve its own objective. But in front of China, this just won’t work!”
\n

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1/5 On 5 Aug, SC&FM #WangYi held a press conference for Chinese & foreign media after attending the series of foreign ministers' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Phnom Penh. Wang expressed his readiness to elaborate on China's position on the #Taiwan question. pic.twitter.com/XP7pyJwGpm
— Ambassador Deng Xijun (@China2ASEAN) August 7, 2022

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The Chinese embassy in Australia has this morning condemned a joint statement made by the foreign ministers of Australia, Japan and the United States that expressed concerns over China’s military drills in Taiwan.

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The Chinese embassy in Australia released a lengthy statement saying:

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Instead of expressing sympathy and support to the victim, the Australian side has condemned the victim along with the perpetrators. This is completely putting the cart before the horse and reversing the right from the wrong.”
\n

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The statement went on to say that Japan “should be the first to engage in self-reflection and discretion” for its history of colonisation in Taiwan.

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“Australia should not take sides and blindly make unfair judgments that run counter to the facts.”

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It is absolutely unacceptable for the finger-pointing on China’s justified actions to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity. We firmly oppose and sternly condemn this.
\n

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The statement went on to defend the actions taken by the Chinese government as “legitimate and justified” in order to “safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity and curb the separatist activities”.

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The spokesperson says the one-China principle “should be strictly abided by and fully honoured. It should not be misinterpreted or compromised in practice.”

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A White House spokesperson has said China is trying to “change the status quo” through its military drills around Taiwan.

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These activities are a significant escalation in China’s efforts to change the status quo. They are provocative, irresponsible, and raise the risk of miscalculation,” the spokesperson said.
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They are also at odds with our longstanding goal of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is what the world expects.”
\n

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China’s military has pressed ahead with its largest ever military drills, targeting Taiwan with what the island’s government called a simulated attack, including further incursions over the median line and drone flights over Taiwan’s outlying islands.

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On Saturday, Taiwan’s ministry of defence said it had observed People’s Liberation Army (PLA) planes and ships operating in the Taiwan strait, believing them to be simulating an attack on its main island.

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“Multiple batches of Chinese communist planes and ships conducting activities around the Taiwan strait, some of which crossed the median line,” it said, referring to the unofficial border in the waters between China and Taiwan.

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On Saturday, Taiwan also scrambled jets to warn away 20 Chinese aircraft, including 14 that crossed the Taiwan strait median line, according to Reuters, citing Taiwan’s defence ministry.

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20 PLA aircraft (SU-30*10, J-16*4, J-11*4, Y-8 ASW and Y-20 Aerial Refueling) and 14 vessels conducted an air-sea operation on the surrounding area of R.O.C on August 6, 2022. Please check our official website for more information: https://t.co/Tj6C1y0WHR pic.twitter.com/apjMe6IYMn
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) August 6, 2022

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About 10 Chinese and Taiwanese navy boats continued to stay close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Sunday morning, a source briefed on the matter has told Reuters.

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The source added Chinese boats repeatedly “pressed” into the unofficial buffer, while Taiwan’s navy stayed close-by to monitor the movements.

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Both sides have shown restraint so far, the source familiar with the security planning in the region said, since similar navy manoeuvring on Monday near the median line separating China and Taiwan.

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Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of tensions between China and Taiwan.

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I’m Samantha Lock and I will be bringing you all the latest developments.

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It is approaching 10am in Beijing. Here is everything you might have missed:

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Taiwan’s defence ministry accused Chinese aircraft and ships of carrying out a simulated attack on its main island on Saturday. Several batches of Chinese aircraft and ships were detected in the Taiwan Strait, 14 of which crossed the median line – an unofficial buffer separating the two sides – according to the ministry. Taiwan’s army used patrolling naval ships and put shore-based missiles on standby in response.

The White House has condemned the escalation in military drills. “These activities are a significant escalation in China’s efforts to change the status quo. They are provocative, irresponsible, and raise the risk of miscalculation,” a spokesperson said.

China has accused the US of interfering in Beijing’s internal affairs. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, said the US should have stopped Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week.

The Chinese embassy warned Australia against involvement in its actions over Taiwan, saying “finger-pointing” against Beijing was unacceptable. Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, earlier condemned Beijing’s “disproportionate and destabilising” actions, saying she had expressed her concern to her Chinese counterpart at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said its naval forces were keeping tabs on China’s military vessels off the eastern coast.

China’s People’s Liberation Army’s eastern theatre command said it continued on Saturday to conduct sea and air joint exercises north, south-west and east of Taiwan, as planned. It said its focus was on testing land strike and sea assault capabilities.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said China should not hold “hostage” important global matters such as the climate crisis, after Beijing cut off contacts with Washington in retaliation for Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

Speaking at a rally in Wisconsin, the former US president, Donald Trump, questioned why Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. “What was she doing in Taiwan? She was China’s dream, she gave them an excuse. They’ve been looking for that excuse.”

A Taiwan official who was in charge of various missile production projects was found dead on Saturday morning in a hotel room in southern Taiwan, according to the official Central News Agency. Ou Yang Li-hsing, the deputy head of the military-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, was 57. The cause of his death was unknown, CNA reported.

The US, Australian and Japanese foreign ministers have urged China to immediately cease military exercises around Taiwan. In a joint statement, officials expressed their concern about China’s recent actions “that gravely affect international peace and stability, including the use of large-scale military exercises”. They also condemned China’s launch of ballistic missiles, five of which the Japanese government reported landed in its exclusive economic zones “raising tension and destabilising the region”.

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said Chinese military drills near Taiwan were a threat to regional security and a “serious problem that impacts our national security and the safety of our citizens”.

North Korea denounced Nancy Pelosi as “the worst destroyer of international peace and stability”, after the US House speaker expressed her commitment during a visit to South Korea to achieving the North’s denuclearisation. It also condemned her trip to Taiwan.

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Taiwan’s military have released some images of how its service personnel were responding to China’s military drills.

A Taiwan Navy soldier monitors Chinese activity at an undisclosed location in this image released on 7 August. Photograph: Taiwan Military News Agency/Reuters

A Taiwan navy soldier rehearses a missile loading operation at an undisclosed location in this image released on 7 August. Photograph: Taiwan Military News Agency/Reuters

Summary of the day so far …

It is 3.30pm in Taiwan, and here is a summary of the latest situation.

China again conducted military drills and exercises around Taiwan on Sunday. The four day show of military strength had been a response to US politician Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the disputed territory earlier in the week.

Taiwan’s defence ministry earlier said it has sent aircraft and ships to “appropriately” react to Chinese military drills around the island.

China’s navigational warnings and NOTAMs for military exercises around Taiwan have expired, excluding in one area, and China didn’t extend those exercises as some had previously thought they might.

Taiwan’s transport ministry said flights through its airspace had gradually resumed on Sunday about noon as most notifications for Chinese military drills near the island were “no longer in effect”.

Taiwan’s mainland affairs council (MAC) – which sets policy towards the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – has called on Beijing authorities to “exercise restraint and immediately stop all of its belligerent behaviours”. The council accused the PRC of continuing with its military exercises around Taiwan “as part of a simulation for an attack and a blockade in order to intimidate Taiwan and neighbouring countries”.

Taiwan’s Premier Su Tseng-chang says China has “arrogantly” used military actions to disrupt regional peace and stability. Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Sunday, Su also called on Beijing to not flex its military muscles, and condemned “foreign enemies” he said were attempting to sap the morale of the Taiwanese people through cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.

A White House spokesperson has said China is trying to “change the status quo” through its military drills around Taiwan.

Taiwan’s top diplomat in the US has said the self-governing island has been “bullied, marginalised and isolated from the world” for too long and maintained its people would not surrender their freedom.

Beijing has announced it will hold further military exercises near the southern part of the Yellow Sea and Bohai, near South Korea. The exercises are expected to start on Monday 8 August and last until 8 September.

Chinese diplomats continue in their campaign to lay the blame on the US and accuse Washington of causing chaos in the region. On Saturday, Hua Chunying, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, accused the US of interfering in Beijing’s internal affairs. Chunying also said the US should have stopped Pelosi’s visit.

This is Martin Belam here in London, and I will be bringing you any further reaction to China’s military exercises as it develops. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com

Taiwan’s transport ministry said flights through its airspace had gradually resumed on Sunday about noon as most notifications for Chinese military drills near the island were “no longer in effect” according to a Reuters report.

The ministry said in a statement, however, that Taiwan would continue to direct flights and ships away from a Chinese military drill off its eastern coast until 10am local time on Monday morning.

Taiwan’s mainland affairs council (MAC) has called on Beijing authorities to “exercise restraint and immediately stop all of its belligerent behaviours”.

The council accused China of continuing with its military exercises around Taiwan “as part of a simulation for an attack and a blockade in order to intimidate Taiwan and neighbouring countries”.

A statement statement released on Sunday added:

CCP officials such as Foreign Minister Wang Yi have been persistently and openly distorting truths on the international stage, blaming others for the CCP’s own actions jeopardising peace across the Taiwan Strait, and smearing our national leader with vulgar language.
The MAC once again expresses our condemnation to mainland China’s military intimidation, serious encroachment of our national sovereignty, and violent and aggressive strikes that affect regional security.
We solemnly warn that the Beijing authorities must be rational, exercise restraint, and immediately stop all of its belligerent behaviours.
The MAC emphasised that the Republic of China is a sovereign state; the fact that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other is an objective truth and cross-Strait status quo.
From the perspectives of history, international law, and cross-Strait reality, Taiwan has never been, and will never be, subordinate to the People’s Republic of China. The future of the Republic of China (Taiwan) can only be determined by its 23 million people.”

The MAC maintained that Taiwan “has remained calm and rational in this situation”.

We will firmly safeguard our national sovereignty, security, and the line of defence for freedom and democracy. We also call on members of the global democratic community to continue supporting Taiwan and jointly curb authoritarian regimes’ irresponsible actions, especially military adventurism and sabotage of peace.”

Beijing has announced it will hold military exercises near the southern part of the Yellow Sea and Bohai, near South Korea.

The exercises are expected to start on Monday, 8 August, and last until 8 September.

The PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command announced on China’s social media platform Weibo at midday on Sunday that it will continue to conduct coordinated maritime and aerial military exercises around Taiwan, and the focus of these exercises will be testing the PLA’s ground attack and long-range aerial attack capabilities, local media outlets report.

Some images of Taiwanese aircraft seen flying over an airbase in Hsinchu, Taiwan, have been released across our newswires today.

Taiwan’s defence ministry earlier said it has sent aircraft and ships to “appropriately” react to Chinese military drills around the island after multiple Chinese military ships, aircraft, and drones continued to conduct joint drills near Taiwan.

Two Taiwanese Air Force Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets fly by an airbase in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Sunday 7 August. Photograph: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA

A Taiwanese Air Force Mirage 2000-5 fighter jet approaches an airbase for landing in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Photograph: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA

Taiwan’s defence ministry said it has sent aircraft and ships to “appropriately” react to Chinese military drills around the island. Photograph: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA

A Taiwanese Air Force Mirage 2000-5 fighter jet seen as Chinese military ships, aircraft, and drones continued to conduct joint drills near Taiwan on Sunday morning. Photograph: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA

US warns Pacific isles of ‘struggle’ against coercive regimes

US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman said a new crop of world leaders are reviving “bankrupt” ideas about the use of force, according to a recent report from Agence France-Presse.

Visiting a battlefield memorial in the Solomon Islands, Sherman said “some around the world” had forgotten the cost of war, or were ignoring the lessons of the past.

She hit out at “leaders who believe that coercion, pressure, and violence are tools to be used with impunity”, without citing any leader by name.

Painting the situation today as carrying faint echoes of the fight against Nazism and Imperial Japan in the 1930-40s, Sherman urged the region to push back.

We remember how bankrupt, how empty, such views were then, and remain today,” she said.
Today we are once again engaged in a different kind of struggle – a struggle that will go on for some time to come.”

Sherman told her hosts “it is up to us to decide if we want to continue having societies where people are free to speak their minds.”

It is time, she said, to decide “if we want to have governments that are transparent and accountable to their people.”

China lifts no-go notices for drill areas – reports

China appears set to wrap up its largest-ever military exercises surrounding Taiwan later today.

It has deployed fighter jets, warships and ballistic missiles around Taiwan in what analysts have described as practising a blockade and ultimate invasion of the island.

Those exercises are set to wrap up Sunday, though Beijing has announced fresh drills in the Yellow Sea – located between China and the Korean peninsula – to take place until 15 August.

According to some unconfirmed reports, China has lifted its no-go notices for drill areas.

China claims US should have stopped Pelosi’s visit

Chinese diplomats continue in their campaign to lay the blame on the US and accuse Washington of causing chaos in the region.

On Saturday, Hua Chunying, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, accused the US of interfering in Beijing’s internal affairs.

Chunying also said the US should have stopped Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week.

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Talking about "responsible" @StateDept, the US should have stopped #Pelosi's visit to #Taiwan and stop showing muscles at China’s doorsteps, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs,…
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) August 6, 2022

Talking about “responsible” @StateDept, the US should have stopped #Pelosi‘s visit to #Taiwan and stop showing muscles at China’s doorsteps, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs,…
— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) August 6, 2022

China’s former ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, has also just posted a lengthy series of tweets in which he quotes China’s foreign minister, Yang Wi.

In total disregard of the firm opposition and repeated representations of the Chinese side and with the condonement and even arrangement of the US government, Pelosi went ahead with the visit to China’s Taiwan region.
This reckless move seriously undermined China’s sovereignty, seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs, seriously violated the commitments by the US, seriously jeopardised peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. It is only natural that China makes a firm response.
Our position is justified, reasonable and legal; our measures are firm, strong and measured; and our military exercises are open, transparent and professional. They are consistent with domestic and international laws, as well as international practices.
They are aimed at sending a warning to the perpetrator and punishing the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces. We will firmly safeguard China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, resolutely stop the United States’ attempt to use the Taiwan card to contain China.
We will firmly shatter the Taiwan authorities’ illusion to pursue Taiwan independence by soliciting the support of the US. At the same time, we are upholding the international law and the basic norms governing international relations, particularly non-interference in countries’ internal affairs.
This is the most important international norm enshrined in the UN Charter. If the principle of non-interference is discarded, the world will return to the law of the jungle, the UshnaShah will become even more unscrupulous in treating and bullying other countries.”

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Wang Yi: In total disregard of the firm opposition and repeated representations of the #Chinese side and with the condonement and even arrangement of the #US government, #Pelosi went ahead with the visit to China's #Taiwan region.
— 刘晓明Liu Xiaoming (@AmbLiuXiaoMing) August 7, 2022

Wang Yi: In total disregard of the firm opposition and repeated representations of the #Chinese side and with the condonement and even arrangement of the #US government, #Pelosi went ahead with the visit to China’s #Taiwan region.
— 刘晓明Liu Xiaoming (@AmbLiuXiaoMing) August 7, 2022

Taiwan’s defence ministry says it has sent aircraft and ships to “appropriately” react to Chinese military drills around the island.

Multiple Chinese military ships, aircraft, and drones continued to conduct joint drills near Taiwan on Sunday morning, simulating attacks on Taiwan and Taiwanese navy ships, the self-ruled island’s defence ministry said in a news release as reported by Reuters.