China has criticized countries such as Japan and Australia for their “irresponsible” criticism of Chinese military exercises in the waters around Taiwan.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said on Wednesday that the exercises were “deeply worrying, destabilizing and risk inflaming regional tensions”.
“Australia strongly opposes any action that increases the risk of accident, miscalculation or escalation,” DFAT said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Differences must be managed through dialogue, not through the use of force or coercion. Australia opposes any unilateral action to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. Peace and stability are in all our interests,” the statement said, adding that Australian officials had “raised their concerns with Chinese counterparts”.
Japan said on Wednesday that the Chinese exercises are “increasing tensions” in the Taiwan Strait, while the European Union said on Tuesday that the military activity “endangers international peace and stability”.
In response to these comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said: “These countries and institutions are turning a blind eye to the separatist forces in Taiwan who are trying to achieve independence through military means.”
“Yet they make irresponsible criticism of China’s necessary and righteous actions to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, distorting the facts and confusing right and wrong, which is completely hypocritical,” he told reporters at a news conference.
Taiwan condemned the exercises as a threat to regional security and a blatant provocation.
Taiwan is still on high alert
Meanwhile, Taiwan remained on high alert on Wednesday and kept its maritime emergency response center running while monitoring Chinese naval maneuvers, the coast guard said.
There are currently more than 90 Chinese naval and coast guard ships in the region, many of which are deployed in the South China Sea, near Taiwan and the East China Sea in a major maritime show of force, two security officials in the region told Reuters.
The officials, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the scale of Chinese maritime deployments had steadily increased since early this week.
China is in the middle of a traditionally busy season for military exercises.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday that 77 Chinese military aircraft and 25 navy and coast guard ships operated around the island in the past 24 hours.
Among them, 35 military aircraft had crossed the center line of the Taiwan Strait that separates the two sides, it added.
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