China "successfully" ends its military exercises near Taiwan

Taiwan condemns the exercises, saying they undermine the "peace and stability" of the region

The Eastern Operations Command of the Chinese Army has reported on Monday that it has "successfully" completed its military exercises around Taiwan after the deployment of an aircraft carrier in the vicinity.

The maneuvers, which have lasted for three days, have allowed the Chinese forces to carry out various exercises, test their capabilities, simulate attacks and implement a possible blockade of the island.

"The exercise, carried out between April 8 and 10, has made it possible to exhaustively test the Army's combat capacity under current conditions," the Eastern Operations Command said in a statement collected by the news agency Xinhua.

Several fighters with live ammunition and other aircraft have participated in the maneuvers, with which the Chinese forces have carried out various confrontation drills with the aim of "destroying enemy air forces" and maintaining their "air supremacy."

Thus, the Chinese forces have concluded that the troops are "prepared to fight when necessary" and have stressed that "they will be able to resolutely crush any attempt at independence by Taiwan."

For its part, the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned these exercises and has qualified that they "undermine peace and stability" in the region and has thanked the United States for its support and its "critical" stance when asking China to act. in a "reasonable and restraint" manner.

"The Ministry reiterates that the President of Taiwan is simply exercising her basic right of a sovereign nation to visit other countries and engage in diplomatic activities, so China has no right to intervene," it said in a statement. .

Thus, it has stressed that "by using it as a pretext to carry out provocations, China is clearly challenging the international order and is undermining peace and stability on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and the entire region."

This, as Taipei has denounced, "contravenes the basic principles of the United Nations Charter, which establishes that disputes must be resolved peacefully." "As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will not provoke an escalation of conflict or instigate disputes, but will safeguard its sovereignty and national security and act resolutely to uphold democracy and freedom," the document states.

In addition, he added that Taiwan "will continue to maintain coordinated communications with the United States and other like-minded countries to curb authoritarian expansionism and aggression while trying to preserve international order in a free and open Indo-Pacific region."

The escalation of tensions in the region began with the trip to the island of the now former president of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, in August of last year, although they have rebounded after the meeting between the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing Wen, and the current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy. Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the territory under its sovereignty.