China says it is conducting new military exercises in the Yellow and Bohai Seas after a barrage of activities that surrounded Taiwan in recent days.
Beijing’s fury triggered the initial exercise over a visit to Taipei by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Taiwan has accused China of practising invading the island, which Beijing considers it’s own.
On Sunday, a senior Chinese military analyst said China would now conduct “regular” military exercises near Taiwan.
China views Taiwan as a separate province that will eventually be under Beijing’s control. But Taiwan is a self-governing island that sees itself as separate from the mainland.
Any indication of its recognition by world leaders, however, angers China.
With the series of military drills around Taiwan expected to finish on Sunday, the Chinese maritime authorities announced that several other military exercises are being carried out in other locations.
In the Yellow Sea – located between China and the Korean peninsula – new daily military drills were due from Saturday until the middle of August, including live-fire exercises.
In addition, a month-long military operation in one area of the Bohai sea – off China’s east coast – started on Saturday. A separate military drill also took place in the northern part of the Bohai sea.
The announcements come as a senior military analyst quoted in Chinese state media said China would conduct “regular” military drills on the eastern side of the median line in the Taiwan Strait from now on. The median line is an unofficial buffer separating the two sides.
The exercises were expected to end by midday on Sunday, but neither China nor Taiwan has confirmed their conclusion.
Taiwan’s transport ministry, however, said most of its airline and sailing routes could gradually resume as of midday on Sunday.
But it added that it would continue to direct flights away from one of the drill zones until Monday morning. In Taiwan, people have largely reacted to China’s actions over the last four days with a large shrug.
Videos posted on social media showed hundreds of people enjoying a large street party on Saturday night in one of Taiwan’s outlying islands close to the Chinese coast.
The collective message to Beijing seems to be that its intimidation will not work.
But military analysts have not been so sanguine.