China threat: Taiwan stages air raid drills
Taiwan’s capital staged air raid drills Monday and its military mobilised for routine defence exercises, coinciding with concerns over a forceful Chinese response to a possible visit to the island by US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
While there was no direct link between China’s renewed threats and Taiwan’s defensive moves, they underscore the possibility of a renewed crisis in the Taiwan Strait, considered a potential hotspot for conflict that could envelop the entire region.
Air raid sirens were sounded in the capital Taipei and the military was holding its annual multi-day Han Kuang drills, including joint air and sea exercises and the mobilisation of tanks and troops.
Pelosi has not confirmed when, or even if, she will visit, but President Joe Biden last week told reporters that US military officials believed such a trip was “not a good idea”.
Administration officials are believed to be critical of a possible trip, both for the problematic timing and the lack of coordination with the White House.
Pelosi, long a sharp critic of Beijing, is second in line to the White House. She is viewed as a Biden proxy by China, which demands members of Congress follow the commitments made by previous administrations.
On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Beijing had repeatedly expressed its “solemn position” over a potential visit by Pelosi, who would be the highest-ranking US elected official to visit Taiwan since 1997.
“We are fully prepared,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing. “If the US is bent on going its own way, China will take firm and strong measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”