Array
Pingtan, China — China said it had “successfully completed” three days of war games around Taiwan on Monday, capping a show of force that saw it simulate targeted strikes and practise a blockade of the self-ruled island.
Beijing’s exercises were a response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week, an encounter it had warned would provoke strong countermeasures.
After three days of exercises, the Chinese military said it had “successfully completed” tasks related to its “Joint Sword” drills.
The operations “comprehensively tested the integrated joint combat ability of multiple military branches under actual combat conditions”, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Command said.
The command said in its statement that troops were “ready for battle and can fight at any time, and will resolutely smash any form of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatism and foreign interference attempts”.
The war games saw Beijing simulate targeted strikes on Taiwan and encirclement of the island, including “sealing” it off, and state media reported dozens of planes had practised an “aerial blockade”.
One of China’s two aircraft carriers, the Shandong, also participated in the exercises, the military said.
The United States, which had repeatedly called for China to show restraint, on Monday sent the USS Milius guided-missile destroyer through contested parts of the South China Sea.
“This freedom of navigation operation upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea,” the US Navy said in a statement.
The Milius deployment triggered condemnation from China, which said the vessel had “illegally intruded” into its territorial waters.
