However, changes in the situation in the Taiwan Strait would continue to receive special attention. “Regular patrols” are planned. Military training and other preparations are also expected to continue. The military will “resolutely protect” China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.
In response to a visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives chief Nancy Pelosi, China had been conducting large-scale military exercises around the island republic for the past week, including the practice of a possible conquest of the island. It was originally announced that the “combat drills” were supposed to end on Sunday, but they were surprisingly extended. During the maneuvers, China also fired ballistic missiles at Taiwan, one of which would have flown directly over Taiwan for the first time. In response to the maneuvers, the Taiwanese military deployed planes, radioed alerts, deployed missile defense systems and fired flares.
shipping in danger
According to Sebastian Kummer, a transport expert at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), a possible military escalation of the Taiwan conflict could also lead to cuts in global trade. Shipping and highly frequented shipping routes in the region would be particularly affected, Kummer told APA. He sees a blockade of the all-important Taiwan Strait between China and the island as the “most likely scenario”. Nearly half of all container ships in the world pass through the Taiwan Strait, according to a recent analysis by financial news agency Bloomberg for the first seven months of the year.