BEIJING • China's military said it carried out more exercises near Taiwan yesterday as a group of US lawmakers visited the Chinese-claimed island and met President Tsai Ing-wen, who said her government was committed to maintaining stability.
The five US lawmakers, led by Senator Ed Markey, arrived in Taipei on an unannounced visit late on Sunday - the second high-level group to arrive after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit earlier this month, which set off several days of Chinese war games.
The Chinese military unit responsible for the area adjacent to Taiwan, the People's Liberation Army Eastern Theatre Command, said it had organised multi-service joint combat readiness patrols and combat drills in the sea and airspace around Taiwan yesterday.
The exercises were "a stern deterrent to the United States and Taiwan continuing to play political tricks and undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait", it added.
China's Defence Ministry said in a separate statement that the lawmakers' trip infringed on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and "fully exposes the true face of the United States as a spoiler and saboteur of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait".
"The Chinese People's Liberation Army continues to train and prepare for war, resolutely defends national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will resolutely crush any form of 'Taiwan independence' separatism and foreign interference."
The theatre command said the exercises took place near Taiwan's Penghu islands, which are in the Taiwan Strait and are home to a major air base, and showed close-up video footage of the islands taken by a Chinese air force aircraft.
Ms Tsai, meeting the lawmakers in her office, said China's exercises had greatly affected regional peace and stability.
She said: "We are engaging in close cooperation with international allies to closely monitor the military situation.
"At the same time, we are doing everything we can to let the world know that Taiwan is determined to safeguard stability and the status quo in the Taiwan Strait."
Mr Markey told Ms Tsai that "we have a moral obligation" to do everything to prevent an unnecessary conflict. "Taiwan has demonstrated incredible restraint and discretion during challenging times," he added.
Mrs Pelosi's visit infuriated China, which responded with test launches of ballistic missiles over Taipei for the first time and ditching some lines of dialogue with Washington, including theatre military talks and on climate change.
However, this trip was much more low key than Mrs Pelosi's, with Ms Tsai's meeting with the lawmakers not carried live on her social media pages, which is the general practice when high-level foreign guests arrive.
REUTERS
