China started Exercises around Taiwan with 42 Warplanes and 8 Ships

China's military said it had launched a three-day exercise with 42 warplanes and 8 ships around Taiwan, which it described as a "serious warning" to Taiwanese separatists who are "in cahoots with outside forces".

In response, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said it would respond calmly, rationally and with a serious attitude, neither provoking controversy nor escalating conflicts.

The Chinese military's statement said the drills were necessary to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense is monitoring the situation with a high degree of vigilance and can respond adequately to protect the security of the island. At the same time, however, he condemned "the groundless actions and will protect the national interest with a firm readiness to fight." The situation is expected and manageable, an unnamed source familiar with the situation told Reuters earlier.

The reason for China's military exercises is the visit to the US of Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, the island's Ministry of Defense also wrote. She spoke earlier this week in Los Angeles with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taiwan yesterday and today met with a visiting delegation of US lawmakers led by Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In front of him, Ing-wen said that she expects to strengthen cooperation in the field of security with the United States. And McCaul promised arms supplies to Taiwan, as well as training for the military "not for war, but for peace."

Beijing has threatened unspecified retaliation if the meeting takes place.

China accepts the democratically governed Taiwan as its territory and does not rule out the possibility of resorting to force to bring the island under its control.

The drills began just hours after French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen left Beijing following an official visit.

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