The announcement ramps up what had initially been a relatively restrained reaction to the first meeting since 1979 on American soil between a Taiwanese president and the U.S. Speaker, who is second in line of succession to the president.
China strongly opposed the meeting, as it does any interactions between senior Taiwanese and United States officials. Initially, that response was limited to angry diatribes and symbolic sanctions on the Hudson Institute and Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which hosted Tsai during her stopovers in the United States on the way to and from Latin America.
The latest bout of saber-rattling began after French President Emmanuel Macron concluded a state visit to China, where he was courted by the country’s leadership. It appeared less severe than the four-day display of force that followed last year’s visit by McCarthy’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan. Back then, China’s military drilled with warships and fighter jets in exclusion zones — large areas of sea and airspace — on all sides of Taiwan’s main island and fired missiles into waters off Taiwan’s east coast.
Based on Saturday’s initial announcement, the intensity of drills was equivalent to a long-distance, large-scale patrol, said Chieh Chung, assistant professor of military strategy at Tamkang University in New Taipei City. “It is not a strategic exercise specifically focused on the scenario of a Taiwan invasion like last time.”
In response to the announcement, Taiwan’s defense ministry accused Beijing of using Tsai’s travel to the United States as an excuse to conduct destabilizing military drills. It said it would respond calmly and rationally, so as to monitor the situation without escalation.
Taiwanese authorities said eight military ships and 42 warplanes were spotted near Taiwan from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. local time on Saturday. Twenty nine of those jets had flown close to Taiwanese airspace or crossed the median line — an unofficial boundary running down the middle of the Taiwan Strait — that Beijing has increasingly violated in recent months.
Even if the Chinese military stops short of its most dangerous behavior in this instance, Taiwanese analysts and officials remain concerned about a constant, step-by-step escalation that undermines a fragile military balance that has held for decades. China this week sailed its newest aircraft carrier 200 nautical miles from Taiwan’s coast as it conducted drills in the West Pacific for the first time.
The Chinese coast guard announced this week that the first time that it was conducting a special operation in the Taiwan Strait, threatening to stop and search Taiwanese ships. Although no checks had been carried out as of Friday, the high-profile campaign — state media live-streamed the progress of the main coast guard vessel — represented a new form of low-level threat.
“Just like the response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, this is not a one off; it will be conducted in a manner and at a pace that we choose,” the Global Times, a nationalist state-run Chinese tabloid, said in a Friday editorial. “The result of our counterattack will be to consolidate and strengthen our initiative and dominance in the Taiwan Strait.”
That slow grind of Chinese “gray zone” tactics is in itself a danger for Taiwan.
“I am now more worried about accidents,” said Chieh, the military strategy expert. He added that Chinese air and naval forces have occasionally acted in a more provocative manner — such as with aggressive midair maneuvers that force Taiwanese fighter jets to jockey for advantage — “and there is no cross-strait mechanism or communication channel on how to avoid military accidents.”
High-level meetings between Taiwanese and U.S. officials have continued, despite Chinese threats. A day after returning to Taipei from her 10-day overseas trip, Tsai met Saturday with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
McCaul, who is leading a bipartisan congressional delegation, said that Washington was “doing everything in our power” to expedite weapons deliveries to Taiwan so it can better deter Chinese aggression.
Tsai thanked him for “demonstrating your unwavering support for Taiwan,” local media reported.
