Taiwan leader speaks out after China's 'punitive' drills

Mr. Lai Thanh Duc spoke while visiting a military facility in Taoyuan City on May 23.

AFP on May 26 quoted new Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te calling on mainland China to "jointly shoulder the important responsibility of regional stability", after a massive military exercise by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) around the island.

The drills began on May 23, just three days after Lai was sworn in. During the “punitive” drills, China said the “independent forces” would have their heads “broken and bleeding.”

China concludes two days of military exercises around Taiwan

Speaking to reporters in Taipei today, May 26, Mr. Lai said he "wants to promote mutual understanding and reconciliation through exchanges and cooperation with China... and move toward the vision of peace and common prosperity."

At a Democratic Progressive Party meeting in Tainan on the same day, he called on China to "share the heavy responsibility for regional stability" with Taiwan, according to Reuters.

China did not immediately comment on Mr. Lai’s latest remarks. Xinhua earlier quoted a spokesman for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command as saying that the Chinese exercise focused on joint patrols of combat readiness at sea and in the air, joint seizure of comprehensive battlefield control and joint precision strikes on important targets.

Xinhua News Agency on May 23 quoted Eastern Theater Command spokesman Li Xi as emphasizing that the new exercise was a "strong punishment" response to "separatist actions" in Taiwan and "a stern warning against interference and provocation by external forces."

According to Taiwan News , this is the third large-scale military exercise by mainland China around Taiwan in the past two years. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said China sent 111 aircraft and dozens of naval ships to participate in the exercise.

Previously, China conducted military exercises in August 2022 after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, and in April 2023 after former Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen met then-US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while she was transiting in the US.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lanh-dao-dai-loan-len-tieng-sau-cuoc-tap-tran-trung-phat-cua-trung-quoc-185240526161013138.htm