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71 Chinese planes, 9 ships crossed median line: Taiwan

Taiwan’s defense ministry said that 71 Chinese planes and nine ships crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line at 4pm (0800 GMT) on Saturday, as China continues drills around the island.

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Situation ‘as expected’

The situation was “as expected” and manageable, and Taiwan’s government has rehearsed various scenarios for its response, the person said on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

President Tsai, hosting a lunch on Saturday with a visiting U.S. lawmaker delegation, led by Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said she looked forward to strengthening security cooperation with the United States.

“I would like to reiterate that the people of Taiwan love democracy and seek peace,” she said, without directly mentioning the drills in comments before television cameras.

Tsai has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed as the government views her as a separatist. She says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, said in a commentary on Saturday that the government has “a strong ability to thwart any form of Taiwan independence secession”.

“All countermeasures taken by the Chinese government belong to China’s legitimate and legal right to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said.

Diplomacy and drills

Unlike in August, China has yet to announce whether it will also stage missile drills. When China announced the previous drills, it published a map showing which maritime areas near Taiwan it would be firing into.

The security source said April is when China typically carries out military exercises.

Taiwanese officials had expected a less severe reaction to the McCarthy meeting, given it took place in the United States, but they had said they could not rule out the possibility of China staging more drills.

China’s announcement came hours after French President Emmanuel Macron left China, where he met President Xi Jinping and other senior leaders. Macron urged Beijing to talk sense to Russia over the war in Ukraine.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen, also in China this week to meet Xi, said stability in the Taiwan Strait was of paramount importance.

Xi responded by saying that expecting China to compromise on Taiwan was “wishful thinking”, according to China’s official reading of the meeting.

China’s defense ministry, as well as carrying the announcement of the drills around Taiwan, showed pictures on its home page of Xi meeting Macron and von der Leyen.

The Taiwan security source said China’s recent efforts to charm foreign leaders were in vain after the announcement of the drills.

“Upon the announcement of drills in the strait, all those efforts have vanished overnight and become a wasted effort.”

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