Tensions rise as Taiwan encircled by Chinese warships, fighter jets
China is carrying out simulated joint precision strikes on key targets as US policymakers warn they are prepared to send troops to defend Taiwan.
US policymakers say they are open to sending American troops to defend Taiwan with the island nation reportedly encircled by Chinese warships as the country carries out aggressive military drills.
China's military simulated precision strikes against Taiwan in a second day of drills around the island on Sunday (local time), with the island's defence ministry reporting multiple air force incursions, and declaring it was monitoring China's missile forces.
Taiwan officials said they detected 70 Chinese aircraft and 11 warships around the island.
China, which claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, began the three days of exercises around the island on Saturday, the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a brief visit to the United States.
Chinese state television reported that the combat readiness patrols and drills around Taiwan were continuing, as its state media spruiked the show of force.
"Under the unified command of the theatre joint operations command centre, multiple types of units carried out simulated joint precision strikes on key targets on Taiwan island and the surrounding sea areas, and continue to maintain an offensive posture around the island," it said.
The Chinese military's Eastern Theatre Command put out a short animation of the simulated attacks on its WeChat account, showing missiles fired from land, sea and air into Taiwan with two of them exploding in flames as they hit their targets.
A source familiar with the security situation in the region told Reuters that China had been conducting simulated air and sea attacks on "foreign military targets" in the waters off Taiwan's southwestern coast.
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"Taiwan is not their only target," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. "It's very provocative."
The Taiwan Defence Ministry said they were paying particular attention to the People's Liberation Army's Rocket Force which is in charge of China's land-based missile system.
Republicans 'open' to sending US troops to Taiwan
It comes as US House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul said sending US troops was "on the table" if China made a move on the democratic island of 23 million people.
"If communist China invaded Taiwan, it would certainly be on the table and something that would be discussed by Congress and with the American people," the Texas Republican told Fox News.
"Are they prepared to do this? Is Taiwan worth it? I can argue for a lot of reasons why it is."
Those words were echoed by senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham who on Sunday (local time) told the same network he was "open" to sending US troops to Taiwan, saying the country's policy of "strategic ambiguity" was not working.
"Yes, I’d be very much open to using US forces to defend Taiwan, because it’s in our national security interest to do so," he said.
with Reuters
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