Taiwan's Foreign Minister Warns China's Military Exercises Are Just An Excuse To Prepare For Invasion

The TB-001 war drone used by China in military exercises near Taiwan. (Wikimedia Commons/航空自衛隊)

JAKARTA - Chinese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu accused China of being a military exercise launched in protest at the visit of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week, as an excuse to prepare for an invasion of his country's territory.

At a press conference in Taipei Tuesday, Wu said Taiwan would not be intimidated, despite Beijing's continued military drills, with China frequently crossing unofficial media lines in the Taiwan Strait.

"China has used the drills to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan," Wu said, urging international support to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

"They carry out large-scale military exercises, missile launches as well as cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns and economic coercion in an attempt to undermine public morale in Taiwan."

Wu was speaking as military tensions rose after the end of four days of China's largest-ever drills around the island on Sunday, exercises that included ballistic missile launches and simulated sea and air strikes, around Taiwan.

Earlier, China's Eastern Theater Command announced on Monday it would conduct a new joint exercise focused on submarine and sea attack operations, confirming concerns by some security analysts and diplomats that Beijing would continue to put pressure on Taiwan's defenses.

When Nancy Pelosi left the region last week, China also ditched several lines of communication with the United States, including theater-level military talks and discussions on climate change.

Meanwhile, in response, Taiwan began its own scheduled drill on Tuesday, firing howitzer artillery into the sea in the area south of Pingtung.

Separately, US President Joe Biden, in his first public comments on the matter since Pelosi's visit said on Monday he was concerned about China's actions in the region but he was not worried about Taiwan.

"I'm afraid they're moving as much as they are. But I don't think they're going to do anything more than them," Biden told reporters in Delaware, referring to China.

A senior Pentagon official said Washington was sticking to its previous assessment that Beijing would not try to attack Taiwan in the next two years.

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl also said the US military would continue to make voyages through the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks.

China has never ruled out taking Taiwan by force and on Monday Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China was conducting normal military exercises "in our waters" in an open, transparent and professional manner, adding Taiwan is part of China.