US President Donald Trump said he is not worried about Beijing's military drills around Taiwan, choosing to instead highlight his rapport with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. I have a great relationship with President Xi, and he hasn't told me anything about [the drills]. I certainly have seen it, Trump told reporters at a press conference on Monday. No, nothing worries me. They've been doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area, he said.
The two-day war games kicked off on Monday - nearly two weeks after the US announced one of its largest-ever arms sale to Taiwan. The sale had angered Beijing, which sees the self-governed island as a breakaway province. China's military exercises on Tuesday will see it run 10 hours of live-firing exercises in the sea and airspace of five locations surrounding the island. Its Eastern Theater Command in charge of the Taiwan Strait said it has lined up destroyers, frigates and fighter-bombers to test the military's sea-air coordination and integrated containment capabilities.
The war games, which simulate the seizure and blockade of the island's key areas, serve as a warning against Taiwan independence separatist forces and external interference, according to the Chinese military. Taiwan's presidential office has criticized the drills, calling them a challenge to international norms.
China has long vowed to reunify with Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this. Beijing has ramped up pressure over Taipei with military drills and regular incursions into its waters and airspace. Taiwan, in turn, has plans to boost defense spending to modernize its armed forces.
While Trump has downplayed Beijing's ongoing drills, his administration had recently announced a $11bn ($8.2bn) weapons package to Taiwan, which includes advanced rocket launchers, self-propelled howitzers, and a variety of missiles. The US continues to have formal ties with Beijing rather than Taiwan, but remains a powerful ally of Taiwan and its biggest arms supplier. In response to recent sales, China imposed sanctions on several US defense firms and asserted that any attempts to contain China by using Taiwan will absolutely not succeed.\
The two-day war games kicked off on Monday - nearly two weeks after the US announced one of its largest-ever arms sale to Taiwan. The sale had angered Beijing, which sees the self-governed island as a breakaway province. China's military exercises on Tuesday will see it run 10 hours of live-firing exercises in the sea and airspace of five locations surrounding the island. Its Eastern Theater Command in charge of the Taiwan Strait said it has lined up destroyers, frigates and fighter-bombers to test the military's sea-air coordination and integrated containment capabilities.
The war games, which simulate the seizure and blockade of the island's key areas, serve as a warning against Taiwan independence separatist forces and external interference, according to the Chinese military. Taiwan's presidential office has criticized the drills, calling them a challenge to international norms.
China has long vowed to reunify with Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this. Beijing has ramped up pressure over Taipei with military drills and regular incursions into its waters and airspace. Taiwan, in turn, has plans to boost defense spending to modernize its armed forces.
While Trump has downplayed Beijing's ongoing drills, his administration had recently announced a $11bn ($8.2bn) weapons package to Taiwan, which includes advanced rocket launchers, self-propelled howitzers, and a variety of missiles. The US continues to have formal ties with Beijing rather than Taiwan, but remains a powerful ally of Taiwan and its biggest arms supplier. In response to recent sales, China imposed sanctions on several US defense firms and asserted that any attempts to contain China by using Taiwan will absolutely not succeed.\
