China has threatened to conduct a “military mission” anytime from now till September 4 in the north of the Taiwan strait, provoking Taipei to warn Beijing against any attempt to annex the democratic island nation.
China’s Maritime Safety Administration had announced that it was going to conduct a “military mission from Friday to September 4 in the Bohai strait and northern Yellow Sea”, Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Xi Jinping government, reported.
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The Global Times also claimed that China had “expelled” and destroyed the US spy plane U-2, which flew in the Chinese-designated “no-fly zone” on Tuesday when China was conducting a live-fire naval drill in the Bohai Sea off its north coast.
Ridiculing the US, the Global Times in a sarcastic piece wrote, “China’s military museum invited US pilots to visit the U-2 wreckage following their recent trespassing into China’s no-fly zone, which is applauded by Chinese netizens. Some said that it is ok if the US wants to provide more exhibits.”
Taking strong offence to the Chinese threats, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday vowed to defend the island with a “solid” air force while unveiling the island’s US-backed maintenance centre for a fleet of upgraded F-16 fighters.
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“It takes solid defence capability, not bowing and cringing, to defend the sovereignty of the Republic of China and maintain regional peace and stability,” Tsai said at an event in the central city of Taichung.
The tensions in the region have escalated after China fired one intermediate-range ballistic missile, DF-26B, from the Qinghai Province and another medium-range ballistic missile, DF-21D, from Zhejiang Province on Wednesday into the South China Sea.