TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan reported a Chinese aircraft carrier group sailing south of the island on Sunday, as China’s military issued a video saying it was “ready for war” amid concerns in Taipei about a possible new round of Chinese war games. .
China, which views democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, despises its president Lai Ching-te as a “separatist,” and the Chinese military routinely operates around the island.
Last week in his major national day speech, Lai said the People’s Republic of China had no right to represent Taiwan, but the island was willing to work with Beijing to fight challenges such as climate change, striking a firm and conciliatory tone, but drawing anger from China.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that a Chinese naval group led by the aircraft carrier Liaoning had entered waters near the Bashi Strait, which connects the South China Sea and the Pacific and separates Taiwan from the Philippines. It said the carrier group was expected to enter the Western Pacific.
Taiwan’s armed forces are keeping a close eye on developments and “exercising appropriate vigilance and response”, the ministry added, without elaborating.
Security sources in Taiwan had said before Lai’s speech that his speech could trigger new Chinese war games, the last of which the country held in May in what Beijing said was “punishment” for Lai’s inaugural speech that month.
Earlier on Sunday, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, which is responsible for the region that includes Taiwan, posted a propaganda video on its social media account with the caption “fully prepared and biding its time before battle”.
The video shows fighter jets and warships operating together, mobile missile launchers moving into place, and amphibious assault vehicles, with a small map of Taiwan included in one of the Chinese characters that headline the video.
China has not ruled out using force to achieve unification.
China’s Defense Ministry did not respond to calls outside business hours on Sunday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lai and his government reject Beijing’s claims of sovereignty, saying only the Taiwanese people can determine their future. Lai has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing but was rejected.