Taiwan President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech to mark the island’s National Day, in Taipei, Taiwan, October 10, 2024. ANN WANG/REUTERS President Lai Ching-te is scheduled to make a stopover in American territory, which irritates Beijing. Taiwanese authorities announced on Friday, November 29, that they had detected 41 Chinese military planes and ships near the island. The Ministry of Defense detailed that there were 33 planes and eight Chinese warships, all spotted in the last twenty-four hours in Taiwan’s airspace and waters. The army also spotted a balloon – the fourth since Sunday – about 172 kilometers west of the island. In recent years, Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of China, has intensified its military activity around the island to pressure Taipei into accepting its sovereignty claims. It deploys fighter planes, drones and warships around Taiwan almost daily. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers One military exercise after another, China is preparing for a potential invasion of Taiwan Read later American stopover by the president during a trip Lai Ching-te, who openly defends the sovereignty of Taiwan, leaves on Saturday to visit the Marshall Islands, the Tuvalu archipelago and Palau, the only Pacific nations among Taiwan’s twelve remaining allies. During this tour, Lai Ching-te, in power since May, will spend two nights in Hawaii and one night in Guam, American island territories, to meet “old friends” and “members of think tanks”, declared to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) a source at the presidency, on condition of anonymity. Taiwanese officials have already stopped on American soil during trips to the Pacific or Latin America, arousing the anger of Chinese leaders. Lai Ching-te’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, had already passed through Hawaii and Guam during her first official visit to her Pacific allies in 2017.[armée] “China has the sacred mission of protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity and will resolutely crush all secessionist attempts for Taiwan’s independence,” Wu Qian, spokesperson for Beijing’s defense ministry, warned on Thursday. a press conference. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover As of Thursday evening, the Taiwanese army had deployed planes, ships and coastal missile systems after detecting 19 Chinese aircraft near the island. “It is not excluded that there will be a large-scale military exercise in response to Lai’s visit [Ching-te] » in Hawaii, estimated Su Tzu-yun, a military expert from the Taiwanese Institute for National Defense and Security Research, interviewed by AFP. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The Taiwanese president takes the risk of a firm speech against China Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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Author : News7
Publish date : 2024-11-29 10:55:46
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