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China will begin three days of military exercises around Taiwan today after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's return from a trip to the United States.
Key points:
- China's army announced it would hold "combat readiness patrols" and exercises near Taiwan from today
- The announcement follows the Taiwanese President's meeting with the US Speaker in California
- China also announced sanctions against two US institutions following the meeting
China will hold "combat readiness patrols" and exercises around the Taiwan Strait and to the north, south and east of Taiwan "as planned", the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command announced in a brief statement.
Ms Tsai met US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library while in Los Angeles on Wednesday, angering Beijing, which views Taiwan as its territory.
There was no immediate response from Taiwan's government, though the island's defence ministry said on Saturday morning that in the previous 24 hours, it had spotted four Chinese aircraft in Taiwan's air defence zone, not an unusual number.
Ms Tsai will meet visiting US political delegation, led by Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, later on Saturday.
The People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party, said in a commentary on Saturday that the government has "a strong ability to thwart any form of Taiwan independence secession".
"All countermeasures taken by the Chinese government belong to China's legitimate and legal right to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity," it said.
Ms Tsai, who strongly rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed as the government views her as a separatist.
She said only Taiwan's people could decide their future.
Beijing staged war games around Taiwan, including live fire missile launches, in August after then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.
However, unlike in August, China has yet to announce whether it will also stage missile drills.
Then, China published a map at the same time as its announcement of the drills showing which maritime areas near Taiwan it would be firing into.
Taiwanese officials had expected a less severe reaction to the meeting with Mr McCarthy, given it took place in the United States, but they had said they could not rule out the possibility of China staging more drills.
Sanctions announced following meeting in California
Having threatened unspecified retaliation if the meeting were to take place, China has announced sanctions against the Hudson Institute and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the organisations were sanctioned for "providing a platform and convenience to Taiwan separatist activities" and that Chinese institutions were prohibited from having any cooperation or contact with them.
Separately, the Taiwan Affairs Office also announced further sanctions on Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's representative in the United States.
China's announcement of military drills came hours after French President Emmanuel Macron left China following meetings with senior leaders, including President Xi Jinping, where Mr Macron urged Beijing to talk sense to Russia over the war in Ukraine.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen, also in China this week to meet Mr Xi, said stability in the Taiwan Strait was of paramount importance.
Mr Xi responded by saying that expecting China to compromise on Taiwan was "wishful thinking", according to China's official reading of the meeting.
ABC/Reuters