- Suspected drones flown over Taiwanese islands
- Defense Ministry says its website was attacked, offline for some time
- Chinese military exercises, including live-fire, set to begin
- China says it’s an internal matter
TAIPEI, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Suspected drones flew over Taiwan’s outlying islands and hackers attacked its Defense Ministry website, officials in Taipei said on Thursday, a day after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit, Which angered China.
In response to Pelosi’s visit, China was to launch a series of military exercises around Taiwan on Thursday, some of which were to take place within the island’s 12-nautical mile sea and airspace, according to the defense ministry in Taipei.
This has never happened before and a senior ministry official described the possible move as “amounting to a sea and air blockade of Taiwan”.
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China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, said on Thursday that its differences with the self-ruled island were an internal matter. read more
“Our punishment for pro-Taiwan pro-independence, external forces are justified, legitimate,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said.
China’s Xinhua news agency has said the drills, which include live fire drills, will take place in six areas that surround Taiwan and will begin at 0400 GMT.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Wednesday night, just hours after Pelosi left for South Korea, unidentified aircraft, possibly drones, had flown over the territory of the Kinmen Islands. read more
Major General Chang Joon-sung of the army’s Kinmen Defense Command told Reuters the drones came in a pair and took off twice over the Kinmen area around 9 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Wednesday. and 10 pm
“We immediately opened fire to issue a warning and drive them away. After that, they turned around. They came in our restricted area and so we dispersed them,” he said.
The heavily fortified Kinmen Islands are located just off the southeast coast of China, near the city of Xiamen.
The Defense Ministry also said that its website suffered cyber attacks and went temporarily offline late on Wednesday, adding that it is working closely with other authorities to increase cyber security because of its relationship with China. Tension is rising. read more
Pelosi, the highest-level US visitor to Taiwan in 25 years, praised its democracy and pledged US solidarity during his brief stay, saying Chinese anger could not deter world leaders from traveling there.
China summoned the US ambassador to Beijing and halted many agricultural imports from Taiwan.
Tight security arrangements were made in the area around the US embassy in Beijing on Thursday, as has been the case throughout the week.
Although Chinese social media users have expressed anger at Pelosi, there were no signs of significant protest or calls for boycotts of American products.
‘Won’t leave Taiwan’
The island’s defense ministry said Taiwan fired jets into its air defense zone on Wednesday to warn 27 Chinese planes, 22 of them, crossed the midline separating the island from China. read more
Pelosi arrived with her unannounced congressional delegation, but watched closely the visit late Tuesday, defying repeated warnings from China and rapidly deteriorating US-Chinese relations.
Pelosi told Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, “Our delegation came to Taiwan to make it very clear that we will not abandon Taiwan,” Beijing is suspected of pushing for formal independence – a red flag for China. Line. read more
“Now, more than ever, America’s solidarity with Taiwan is important, and that’s the message we’re bringing here today.”
China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and has never given up using force to bring it under its control. Foreign ministers of the United States and the Group of Seven warned China against using the visit as an excuse for military action against Taiwan.
“Sadly, Taiwan has been barred from participating in global meetings, most recently due to objections from the World Health Organization, the Communist Party of China,” Pelosi said in a statement issued after her departure.
Pelosi said, “While they can prevent Taiwan from sending its leaders to global forums, they cannot prevent world leaders or anyone from traveling to Taiwan to respect its prosperous democracy, its To highlight the many successes and reaffirm our commitment to continued collaboration.” , read more
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Reporting by Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Tony Monroe; Written by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore
Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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