Taiwan says China deployed more than 100 vessels in regional waters
The deployment began before US President Donald Trump’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing and increased to more than 100 after the summit ended, a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Trump caused tension in Taipei when he suggested that US arms sales to Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip with China, which claims the island is part of its territory and threatens to seize it by force.
Taiwan relies heavily on US support to deter any potential Chinese attack.
In a post on
“The only PROBLEM in this part of the world that destroys the #StatusQuo and threatens regional peace and stability is #China,” Wu said in his post.
Marine research and research vessels were among the more than 100 ships, the security official told AFP. It is unclear what the ships were doing, but Chinese navy and coast guard ships have previously trained in these waters.
China has increased military pressure on Taiwan in recent years; It deploys warplanes and warships around the island almost every day and conducts numerous large-scale exercises.
gun sales
Thousands of people, some waving U.S. and Taiwanese flags, marched in Taipei on Saturday to support the government’s plan to increase defense spending.
Under US pressure, President Lai Ching-te’s government had proposed additional spending of around $40 billion on critical weapons, including US weapons and domestically produced unmanned aerial vehicles.
But the plan was blocked by the opposition-controlled parliament, which approved $25 billion in spending on US weapons alone.
Taiwan’s government has been on the offensive since Trump’s comments on the arms sales, insisting that US policy has not changed and that arms sales are part of Washington’s security commitment to the island.
Beijing’s “firm stance against US arms sales to China’s Taiwan region is consistent, clear and firm,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said at a press conference on Friday.
On Wednesday, Trump referred to the “Taiwan issue” when asked if he would talk to Lai about arms sales to the island.
“I’ll talk to him. I talk to everyone,” Trump said, adding that he had a great meeting with Xi during the state visit.
“We will work on the Taiwan issue,” Trump said.
Lai said Thursday he would be “happy” to talk to Trump.
Such a meeting between the Taiwanese and US presidents would break more than four decades of diplomatic protocol and risk angering China.
