Taiwan conducts air drill amid China pressure

Taiwan staged an air defense exercise as tension simmers over President Lai Ching-te's upcoming Pacific trip. The Taiwanese Defense Ministry also reported two Chinese balloons near the island.

Taiwan's military held a drill early on Tuesday with aircraft, ships and air defense missile systems, its Defense Ministry said, ahead of a trip by President Lai Ching-te to the Pacific.

Described as a "battle plan exercise," the drill, which lasted more than two hours, aimed to "enhance the overall effectiveness of air defense operations and assess the response and engagement procedures of the air defense forces."

China claims Taiwan as its own territory, frequently deploys fighter jets, drones, and warships around the democratically-ruled island to keep up military pressure.

"The Chinese [military] shoulders the sacred mission of safeguarding national sovereignty... and will resolutely crush all secessionist attempts for Taiwan independence," Wu Qian, a spokesperson for China's Defense Ministry, said later on Thursday. 

Chinese balloons reported

Taiwan has also complained of China flying balloons near the island as part of what it calls a pattern of harassment by Beijing.

On Thursday, Taiwan's Defense Ministry reported that it had detected two Chinese balloons over waters north of the island.

The balloons were sighted in two locations on Wednesday afternoon about 111 kilometers (69 miles) northwest and 163 kilometers north of the port city of Keelung, the ministry said.

Earlier, on Sunday, Taiwan also reported a Chinese balloon over the same waters.

Thirteen Chinese military planes and seven navy vessels were also spotted around the island in the 24 hours to 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, the ministry added.

Lai shoring up allies

Lai — who is called a "separatist" by China — is slated to leave on Saturday for a tour of Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau.

The three nations are the only Pacific islands among TaipeI's 12 remaining allies.

The Taiwanese leader will stop over in Hawaii and the United States territory of Guam during the trip, his office said on Thursday. 

The trip is aimed at bolstering Taipei's waning number of diplomatic allies and is likely to anger Beijing, which denounces any efforts to give Taiwan international legitimacy.

Lai's presidential office said on Wednesday that if China were to use the president's trip as an excuse to launch military exercises, "it would be a blatant provocation of the status quo of peace and stability in the region."

Chinese officials denounce US support for Taiwan

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning described Lai's planned stopover in the US territory of Guam as "separatist actions."

"We have consistently opposed official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan... and any form of the US condoning and supporting Taiwan independence separatists and their separatist actions," she said on Thursday.

China's Defense Ministry urged the US not to send wrong messages to those who support Taiwan's independence.

"We firmly oppose official interaction with China's Taiwan region in any form," the defense ministry's Wu said. 

lo,dvv/zc (AFP, Reuters)