Did you miss the latest events regarding renewed tensions over Taiwan? Don’t panic, 20 Minutes takes stock of each day since the visit of Nancy Pelosi, America’s number three and Speaker of the House, which has largely cooled relations between China and the United States. Who did what? Who says what? Where are we ? The answer below:
The fact of the day
Taiwan’s military on Tuesday conducted a live ammunition artillery drill to simulate defending the island against a Chinese invasion that Taipei has accused Beijing of planning. Beijing “used the drills and its military roadmap to prepare to invade Taiwan,” Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said at a news conference.
The army said several hundred soldiers and around 40 howitzers were deployed on Tuesday. An AFP journalist present at the scene noted the start of flare and artillery fire operations in Pingtung County (south) just after 2:40 am. The drills ended around 3:30 a.m., said Lou Woei-jye, spokesman for Taiwan’s Eighth Corps. A new exercise is planned for Thursday.
The number of the day
45 Taiwan’s military said it spotted 45 Chinese planes and 10 ships operating in the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday. However, according to Taipei, 16 planes crossed the center line. No Chinese warplanes or ships entered Taiwan’s territorial waters — less than 12 nautical miles from land — during Tuesday’s Beijing drills.
phrase of the day
Any attempt to counter the flow of history and reunification by force of arms will inevitably meet with strong opposition from the entire Chinese people. It would overestimate your abilities, be reckless and doomed to failure. »
These are the words of Chinese foreign affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin, who responded to the Taiwanese maneuvers during a press conference on Tuesday.
The trend of the day
During a press conference in Taipei following the Taiwanese maneuvers, Joseph Wu did not fail to thank his Western allies, most notably Nancy Pelosi, for standing up to China. The head of Taiwanese diplomacy also said he feared hubris on the part of Beijing, which is firmly opposed to any initiative to give Taiwanese authorities international legitimacy.
Our file on Taiwan
“China’s provocation and aggression have undermined the status quo across the Taiwan Straits and increased tensions in the region,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement. Nevertheless, Washington considered the risk of an escalation by Beijing to be low. “I’m not worried, but I’m worried that they’re so picky. But I don’t think they do more than they do,” said US President Joe Biden.