TAIPEI: Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, Taiwanese authorities said Friday.
\nTaiwan\u2019s coast guard released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past the island on Thursday, on their way to China.
\n\u201cAll the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, thus, although they haven\u2019t officially made any announcement, we consider it over,\u201d Hsieh Ching-chin, deputy director general of Taiwan\u2019s coast guard, said.
\nBeijing has not confirmed the drills and its defense ministry did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a press conference on Friday.
\nBut ministry spokesman Wu Qian said that \u201cwhether or not we hold exercises, and when we hold them, are decided by us alone, based on our own needs and the circumstances of our struggle,\u201d according to an official social media account of the armed forces.
\n\u201cSafeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, and the common interests of compatriots across the Taiwan Strait are the (military\u2019s) sacred duties,\u201d Wu said.
\n\u201cNo matter whether it holds exercises, the People\u2019s Liberation Army will not be absent or soft-hearted when it comes to striking down (Taiwanese) \u2018independence\u2019 and pushing for unification,\u201d he said, referring to the Chinese armed forces.
\nTaiwanese authorities said this week that Beijing\u2019s biggest maritime drills in years stretched from near the southern islands of Japan to the South China Sea.
\nAbout 90 Chinese warships and coast guard vessels took part in the exercises, which included simulating attacks on foreign ships and practicing blockading sea routes, a Taiwan security official said Wednesday.
\nThere was no announcement by Beijing\u2019s army or Chinese state media about increased military activity in the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, South China Sea or Western Pacific Ocean.
\nHowever, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te\u2019s recent visit to the United States and a call with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson sparked fury in Beijing.
\nWhile Taiwan regards itself as a sovereign nation, China claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory and opposes any international recognition of it.
\nThe Taiwan security official said China began planning the massive maritime operation in October and aimed to demonstrate it could choke off Taiwan while also drawing a \u201cred line\u201d ahead of the next US administration.
\nAs Chinese ships returned to China on Thursday, Taiwan\u2019s military and coast guard closed emergency response centers set up in response to the huge maritime mobilization.
\n\u201cThe nine ships went back to Chinese ports last night in two groups,\u201d Hsieh said of vessels that had been in waters to the southeast and southwest of Taiwan.
\nA defense ministry spokeswoman said Friday that Chinese warships and coast guard vessels had been detected returning to China.
\nBeijing has ramped up the deployment of fighter jets and warships around Taiwan in recent years as it pressures Taipei to accept its claims of sovereignty.
\nChina has refused to rule out using force to bring Taiwan under its control, leaving the island to face the constant threat of invasion.
\nThe latest exercise exceeded Beijing\u2019s maritime response to then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s visit to Taipei in 2022, the security official said. Those war games were China\u2019s largest ever around Taiwan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TAIPEI: Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, Taiwanese authorities said Friday. Taiwan\u2019s coast guard released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past the island on Thursday, on their way to China. \u201cAll the Chinese coast guard went back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-449124","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n