Port authorities in Taiwan have advised the liner trade operating in its territorial waters to seek alternative routes after China announced that it would proceed with military drills after US Speaker in the House of Representatives went ahead with her visit to the island nation.
China has for days threatened that it would see such a visit as an act of provocation.
As a result, the government of Xi Jinping has announced that it will conduct naval exercises close to the coast of Taiwan.
In a warning issued from its headquarters in Taiwan, the Maritime and Port Bureau said vessels should avoid any movement in and out of the country’s seven harbours, including the Port of Taipei.
The other ports that could be affected by military aggression from China are Taichung, Kaohsiung, Keelung, Hualien, Suao, and Anping.
The Bureau said the drills were expected to start tomorrow at noon and would last until Sunday, as per China’s stated threat of retaliation.
As tension in the East- and South China Seas escalate, the European Union has called for appeasement through dialogue.
“We encourage a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues. Tensions should be resolved through dialogue. Appropriate channels of communication should be maintained to reduce risks of miscalculation,” the EU said.
China though has made it clear that it will not tolerate a diplomatic visit by Joe Biden’s administration to what it has long stated is a renegade republic, essentially a part of the sovereign territory of the People’s Republic of China.
Subsequently, it is defending its decision to respond militarily to Pelosi’s state visit to Taiwan.
“The Chinese military’s conducting of military exercises in the sea near China’s Taiwan is a necessary and just measure to resolutely protect national sovereignty,” foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a regular briefing in Beijing yesterday.
She claimed that “in the current struggle surrounding Pelosi’s Taiwan visit, the United States are the provocateurs, China is the victim. The joint provocation by the US and Taiwan came first, China’s just defence came after”.
