China planes, ships conducting simulated attack on island: Taiwan

Jets scrambled to warn away 20 Chinese aircraft as 14 crossed median line between the two sides

TAIPEI • Taiwan officials said Chinese aircraft and warships yesterday rehearsed an attack on the island, part of Beijing’s retaliation for a visit there by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Her brief visit last week to the self-ruled island that China regards as a renegade province has prompted military drills that are unprecedented in scale around Taiwan and have seen ballistic missiles fired over the capital Taipei.

China also announced on Friday that it was stopping dialogue with the United States in a series of areas including contacts between theatre-level military commanders and on climate change.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said Taiwan scrambled jets to warn away 20 Chinese aircraft, including 14 that crossed the median line – an unofficial buffer separating the two sides – in what it described as a simulated attack on the island. It also detected 14 Chinese military ships conducting activities around the Taiwan Strait.

China’s Eastern Theatre Command said it had continued to conduct sea and air joint exercises north, south-west and east of Taiwan. It said its focus was on testing its land strike and sea assault systems.

The Chinese exercises – centred on six locations around Taiwan – began on Thursday and are scheduled to last until midday today.