Taiwan lines the planes while the Chinese planes cross the median line
Taiwan scrambled planes to warn off 20 Chinese planes, including 14 that crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the island’s defense ministry said on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Taiwan said China’s military exercises appear to simulate an attack on the self-ruled island, AP reports.
Taiwan also detected 14 Chinese military vessels carrying out activities around the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said in a statement.
Updated at 3.45pm BST
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Summary
Here’s a rundown of the latest developments as 11pm rolls around in Taipei.
- Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, accused the United States of interfering in Beijing’s internal affairs. Chunying also said the United States should have stopped Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week.
- The Chinese embassy has warned Australia against participating in its actions on Taiwan, saying “finger-pointing” at Beijing was unacceptable, Reuters reports. Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned Beijing’s “disproportionate and destabilizing” actions on Friday, saying she had raised concerns with her Chinese counterpart at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia. The Chinese embassy in Australia responded on Saturday with a statement from a spokesman expressing concern and “displeasure” at the three countries’ statements.
- Taiwan scrambled planes to warn off 20 Chinese planes, including 14 that crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the island’s defense ministry said on Saturday, according to Reuters. Taiwan said China’s military exercises appear to simulate an attack on the self-ruled island, AP reports.
- Taiwan’s defense ministry said its naval forces are monitoring China’s military vessels off the east coast. It comes after Taiwan accused Chinese planes and ships of conducting mock attack exercises on its main island on Saturday.
- The People’s Liberation Army Eastern theater command said it continued to conduct joint sea and air exercises in northern, southwestern and eastern Taiwan on Saturday as planned, Reuters reported. He said their goal was to test the system’s land attack and sea assault capabilities.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday that China should not hold talks on major global issues such as the climate crisis “hostage”, after Beijing cut off contacts with Washington in retaliation for the visit from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan. this week. Blinken spoke in an online press conference with his Philippine counterpart in Manila after meeting with newly elected President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and other senior officials.
- At a rally in Wisconsin, former US President Donald Trump has questioned why Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. He told supporters: “What was she doing in Taiwan? She was China’s dream, she gave them an excuse. They’ve been looking for that excuse.”
- Taiwan’s defense ministry on Saturday accused Chinese planes and ships of conducting mock attack drills on its main island. Several batches of Chinese aircraft and ships were spotted in the Taiwan Strait, some of which crossed the median line, an unofficial buffer that separates the two sides, according to the ministry. Taiwan’s military used patrol boats and put land-based missiles on standby in response.
- A Taiwanese official who was in charge of several missile production projects was found dead in a hotel room in southern Taiwan on Saturday morning, according to the official Central News Agency. Ou Yang Li-hsing, the deputy head of the military-owned Chung-Shan National Institute of Science and Technology, was 57 years old. The cause of his death is unknown, CNA reported.
- The foreign ministers of the United States, Australia and Japan have urged China to immediately cease military exercises around Taiwan. In a joint statement after meeting in Phnom Penh on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Australia and Japan, Penny Wong and Hayashi Yoshimasa, “have expressed concern about the recent actions of the People’s Republic of China that seriously affect international peace and stability, including the use of large-scale military exercises.” They also “condemned the PRC’s launch of ballistic missiles, five of which the Japanese government says landed in its exclusive economic zones, raising tensions and destabilizing the region.”
- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Chinese military exercises near Taiwan were a threat to regional security. Beijing announced four days of drills expected to end on Sunday. The drills are a “serious problem that affects our national security and the safety of our citizens,” Kishida told reporters, speaking after a meeting with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday in Tokyo.
- North Korea has denounced Nancy Pelosi as “the worst destroyer of international peace and stability”, after the speaker of the US House expressed her commitment during a visit to South Korea to achieve the denuclearization of the North. He also condemned his trip to Taiwan.
- US special envoy on climate change John Kerry said China’s decision to suspend bilateral climate change talks with the US does not punish Washington, it “punishes the world”. “No country should hold back progress on existential transnational issues because of bilateral differences,” said the former US secretary of state, who is now the Biden administration’s top climate diplomat. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also told reporters that China’s decision to halt cooperation in several critical areas was “fundamentally irresponsible”.
China claims the US should have stopped Pelosi’s visit
On Saturday, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying accused the US of interfering in Beijing’s internal affairs.
Chunying also said the United States should have stopped Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week.
He added that the US must stop trying to “empty” the one-China policy. It refers to an agreement dating back to the 1970s that countries can maintain formal diplomatic relations with either China or Taiwan, but not both.
Washington currently maintains an informal relationship with Taiwan that includes the sale of arms for self-defense.
Speaking of “responsible” @StateDept , the US should have stopped #Pelosi’s visit to #Taiwan and stopped showing muscle at China’s gates, stopped interfering in China’s internal affairs, …
— Hua Chunying (@SpokespersonCHN) August 6, 2022
…stop using salami tactics to invade and hollow out the one-China policy, stop improving relations with Taiwan, and stop arms sales to Taiwan.
— Hua Chunying (@SpokespersonCHN) August 6, 2022
Updated at 3.25pm BST
Here are some of the latest images sent over the news wires from Taiwan.
Taiwanese navy ships are seen in the port of Keelung, Taiwan, on August 6, 2022. Photo: Jameson Wu/Reuters In this photo provided by China’s Xinhua News Agency, a member of the People’s Liberation Army looks through binoculars during Friday’s military exercises. Taiwan’s frigate Lan Yang is seen in the background. Photo: Lin Jian/APA Mirage 2000 fighter jet prepares to take off at an air base in Hsinchu, Taiwan on August 6, 2022. Photo: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA
Updated at 2.38pm BST
US candy giant Mars Wrigley has insisted it “respects China’s national sovereignty” and apologized after an ad for its Snickers bar referred to Taiwan as a country, AFP reports.
Marketing screenshots of the nut chocolate bar featuring South Korean boy band BTS were quickly picked up on social media in mainland China, sparking outrage.
A statement from Mars Wrigley posted on the Snickers Weibo page said:
We are aware of reports of Snickers-related activity in certain regions of Asia, we take this very seriously and we apologize.
The statement adds:
Mars Wrigley respects China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and conducts business operations in strict compliance with Chinese local laws and regulations.
Taiwan is a self-governing democracy, but Beijing sees it as a breakaway province that one day aims to “reunify.”
The Chinese embassy has warned Australia against participating in its actions on Taiwan, saying “finger-pointing” at Beijing was unacceptable, Reuters reports.
China launched ballistic missiles during live-fire drills near Taiwan after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to the island earlier this week.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said Chinese ships and aircraft carried out missions in the Taiwan Strait, with some crossing the median line, in what Taiwan’s military described as a mock attack on island
Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned Beijing’s “disproportionate and destabilizing” actions on Friday, saying she had raised concerns with her Chinese counterpart at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia.
The Chinese embassy in Australia responded on Saturday with a statement from a spokesman expressing concern and “displeasure” at the three countries’ statements.
The statement said:
It is absolutely unacceptable to point the finger at China’s justified actions to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Updated at 1.40pm BST
Taiwan lines the planes while the Chinese planes cross the median line
Taiwan scrambled planes to warn off 20 Chinese planes, including 14 that crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the island’s defense ministry said on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Taiwan said China’s military exercises appear to simulate an attack on the self-ruled island, AP reports.
Taiwan also detected 14 Chinese military vessels carrying out activities around the…