US State Department Says ‘Sufficient Resources’ in Place as China Simulates Striking Taiwan
70 Chinese aircraft and 11 naval vessels have been detected around Taiwan as China stages war games for a third day
The U.S. State Department has said that “sufficient resources and capabilities” were in place to ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as Beijing staged war games around Taiwan for a third day.
“We are comfortable and confident that we have in place sufficient resources and capabilities in the region to ensure peace and stability and to meet our national security commitments,” a State Department spokesperson was quoted as saying by Reuters on Saturday as China’s state media reported conducting simulated joint precision strikes on key targets on Taiwan island and its surrounds.
The United States has urged for restraint while keeping its communication channels open with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the spokesperson said, adding that Washington is “closely monitoring” the CCP’s actions.
Taiwan’s military detected approximately 70 Chinese aircraft and 11 naval vessels around the island on Monday on the third day of China’s military drills, with 35 to 45 warplanes, including eight SU-30 fighters, being spotted crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line and the southwest of Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) numerous times.
Taiwan responded by deploying aircraft, naval vessels, and land-based air defense missile systems to monitor the Chinese military’s activities, the Defense Ministry said on Monday in a statement posted on Twitter.
The ministry said the Taiwanese armed forces implemented readiness drills, with ground-based air defense and sea-control missile troops keeping high alert for any Chinese military incursion.
But it emphasized that Taiwan will not seek to escalate conflicts or cause disputes.
71 PLA aircraft and 9 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities. pic.twitter.com/oZbmPZcDib
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) April 9, 2023
Earlier, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command—the CCP’s military wing—announced that it would stage military drills in the Taiwan Strait and the north, south, and east of Taiwan from April 8 to 10 in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in California.
Beijing sent 42 aircraft and eight ships near Taiwan on Saturday, and 71 aircraft and 9 ships on Sunday as the China’s military simulated precision strikes against the self-ruled democratic island.
“Under the unified command of the theatre joint operations command centre, multiple types of units carried out simulated joint precision strikes on key targets on Taiwan island and the surrounding sea areas, and continue to maintain an offensive posture around the island,” said a Chinese state television report.
The CCP had strongly opposed any form of official interaction and contact between U.S. and Taiwanese officials and threatened to take “resolute countermeasures” if Tsai and McCarthy met.
A PLA spokesperson said the drills were meant to give “a serious warning against the Taiwan independence separatist forces colluding with external forces” and “safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
McCarthy reacted to Beijing’s military drills, saying, “I am the Speaker of the House. There is no place that China is going to tell me where I can go or who I can speak to.”
The State Department had also clarified that transits by high-level Taiwan authorities in the United States aren’t visits, but rather “private and unofficial.”
“As we have said, there is no reason for Beijing to turn this transit–which was consistent with longstanding US practice and policy–into something it is not or use it as pretext to overreact,” the spokesperson said.
Beijing also staged war games around Taiwan following then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) visit to the island in August 2022 and restricted military-to-military communication with Washington.
US Official Urge Supply of Weapons, Troops as CCP Stages Blockade
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Fox News on April 9 said that the CCP could be preparing for a blockade of Taiwan, and urged the United States to quickly train Taiwanese forces “so they can fight like Ukrainians,” send F-16 jets to the island, install nuclear-tipped missiles in its submarines, and dispatch American troops to defend the island.
Chinese state media added on Saturday that its aircraft, including nuclear-capable H-6 bombers armed with live missiles, and warships staged drills to “form a multi-directional island-encompasing blockade situation.”
The United States is a major arms supplier to Taiwan despite having no formal diplomatic ties. It maintains a “one China” policy, which formally recognizes—but doesn’t endorse—the CCP’s position on the matter.
Although the United States doesn’t maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and has sworn to not unilaterally champion the island’s independence, it’s legally bound by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 to provide Taiwan with the arms necessary for self-defense.
Jeff Louderback, Andrew Thornebrooke, and Reuters contributed to this report.
