US President Donald Trump has said he is not worried about China’s military drills around the self-governed island of Taiwan, which it claims as its own.
“I have a great relationship with President Xi [Jinping], 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 of the drills, which have ramped up in recent years and now include simulating a blockade of the island.
The drills, which began on Monday, take place nearly two weeks after the US announced one of its largest-ever arms sales to Taiwan.
The drills area warning against “Taiwan independence separatist forces” and “external interference”, the Chinese military said.
They include 10 hours of live-firing exercises in the sea and airspace of five locations surrounding the island.
The Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command in charge of the Taiwan Strait said it has lined up destroyers, frigates and fighter-bombers to test “sea-air coordination” and “integrated containment capabilities”.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected 130 Chinese military aircraft around the island on Tuesday morning, 90 of which crossed the “median line” – an unofficial border dividing China and Taiwan, the validity of which China rejects.
Such incursions, however, have been happening even when there are no drills, as Beijing practises so-called grey-zone warfare tactics aimed at weakening Taiwan’s defences over a prolonged period.
The Taiwanese ministry said on Tuesday that it had spotted more than a dozen Chinese navy vessels near the island. Taiwan’s armed forces monitored the situation and have deployed aircraft, ships and coastal missile systems in response, the ministry said.
Taiwan’s presidential office has criticised the drills, calling them a challenge to international norms.
In a Tuesday morning statement on social media, President Lai Ching-te said the Chinese Communist Party’s escalation of military pressure was “not something that a responsible power should do”.
“We will act responsibly and not escalate conflict or stir up disputes,” he said, adding that Taiwan’s military and national security team would “do their best to ensure the safety of the country”.