The Kremlin said on Thursday that China has the sovereign right to conduct extensive military exercises near Taiwan and charged the US with deliberately inflaming tensions in the area.
A day after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which Beijing sees as its sovereign territory, China started extraordinary military exercises on Thursday, firing many missiles in the area near Taiwan.
When asked about China’s drills, Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said: “This is China’s sovereign right.”
“The tension in the region and around Taiwan was provoked… by the visit of Nancy Pelosi,” Peskov told reporters on a conference call. “It was an absolutely unnecessary visit and an unnecessary provocation.”
A few Taiwanese citizens were interviewed by the media regarding the Chinese military drills.
“Everyone should want money, not bullets,” joked one, referring to recent troubles in the economy. The 63-year-old Lu Chuan-hsiong was out taking a morning swim. He claimed not to be bothered. “Because Taiwanese and Chinese, we’re all one family. There’s a lot of mainlanders here, too,” he said.
More worried were those who had to work near the water. The owner of a fishing vessel, Chou Ting-tai, remarked: “It’s very close. This will impact us, but if they want to do this, what can we do?”
Despite the rising political tension, life goes on as usual in Taiwan.
