Taiwan remains on alert as China ends military drills

Chinese warships and coast guard vessels are pulling back from waters around Taiwan, Taiwan's coast guard said on Wednesday, signaling the apparent end of Beijing's largest military drills around the self-ruled island.

However, Chnia had yet to formally declare the end of the exercises, Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council, said.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry on Wednesday said that 35 Chinese military planes had crossed the Taiwan Strait median line separating the two sides over the past 24 hours.

Taiwan, however, remained on alert and retained 11 coast guard vessels at sea because Chinese coast guard ships have not fully withdrawn from the area, Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin told AFP news agency.

"We can't let our guard down," he said.

In exercises simulating a blockade of Taiwan's ports, China fired rockets and deployed dozens of aircraft, naval and coast guard vessels on Monday and Tuesday.

The exercises, named "Justice Mission 2025," included live-fire drills in multiple zones surrounding Taiwan, according to China's Eastern Theater Command.

Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhang Han on Wednesday called the exercises a "necessary and just measure" to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Earlier, China's military had said the drills are "a stern warning against 'Taiwan Independence' separatist forces and aimed at deterring outside military intervention.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out using force to exert its control. Taiwan rejects these claims.

Taipei condemned the drills as blatant provocation and a threat to regional security.

Australia and Japan also issued statements regarding the drills.

Australia's Foreign Ministry warned the military drills "risk inflaming regional tensions" and called for differences to "be managed through dialogue."

Japan, which had said recently that its military could get involved if China acted against Taiwan, said it was "concerned" about the drills and called for peaceful negotiations.

"Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are important for the international community as a whole," Japanese Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Toshihiro Kitamura said.

Beijing on Wednesday slammed these "irresponsible criticisms" of China's actions with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian saying: "These countries and institutions are turning a blind eye to the separatist forces in Taiwan attempting to achieve independence through military means."

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