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China (Image: Getty)
China has warned it will respond "forcefully" as tensions between Beijing and Taiwan soar. In a statement posted on the Chinese embassy to the US’s X, the country’s foreign minister Wang Yi said: “In the face of repeated provocation from the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and the large-scale arms sales of the United States to Taiwan, it is only natural that we firmly oppose them and take forceful countermeasures.”
Tensions between the two nations have been heightened in recent weeks, with widespread economic sanctions and increased military drills being carried out after a Trump-agreed $11bn weapons package with Taipei. It is currently unknown what countermeasures will be taken against either the U.S or its autonomous island neighbour, which it claims as its own.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned of "forceful countermeasures" (Image: Getty)
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Only four days ago, China began drills that included 10 hours of live-firing in the sea and airspace of five places around Taiwan.
The Chinese military said the exercises were a warning against "Taiwan independence separatist forces" and "external interference" in a nod to the recent US trade deal.
Alongside the live firing, the Chinese military command in the Taiwan Strait lined up destroyers, frigates and fighter bombers. Taiwan’s military said it detected 130 military aircraft in the airspace near the island.
They also claim that 90 of the planes crossed over the “median line”, an unofficial Taiwanese border, something which China doesn’t recognise.
China increased it's military exercises in the Taiwan Strait (Image: Getty)
Speaking after the widespread drills, President Trump claimed he wasn’t worried about China’s military exercises.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, he added: "I have a great relationship with President Xi [Jinping], and he hasn't told me anything about [the drills]. I certainly have seen it.
"No, nothing worries me. They've been doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area.”
In response to the drills, Taiwan’s presidential office said China had challenged international norms.
President Lai Ching-te added that China’s actions are "not something that a responsible power should do".
He added: "We will act responsibly and not escalate conflict or stir up disputes," he said, adding that Taiwan's military and national security team would "do their best to ensure the safety of the country".
English (US) · 