The United States has warned China against escalating tensions as Taiwan detected multiple Chinese naval vessels, official ships and balloons operating around the island amid Beijing's large-scale live-fire military drills.
China's recent military exercises have heightened strains between Taipei and Beijing, prompting Washington, DC to call on China to reduce its military pressure campaign against Taiwan, Focus Taiwan reported.
"China's military actions and statements toward Taiwan and other regional actors unnecessarily raise tensions," US State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Thursday, according to Focus Taiwan. "We call on Beijing to show restraint, halt its military intimidation of Taiwan, and pursue meaningful dialogue instead."
Pigott added that the US remains committed to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes any unilateral attempt to alter the status quo through force or coercion.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) said it detected six People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels, one official ship and two Chinese balloons operating around Taiwan's territorial waters as of 6 am on Friday.
The MND said Taiwan's armed forces monitored the situation and responded accordingly.
Earlier on Thursday, Taiwan detected three sorties of Chinese military aircraft, 17 PLAN vessels and eight official ships operating around its waters.
Of the three aircraft sorties, one crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwestern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), the MND said in a post on X.
The developments come amid China’s two-day large-scale military exercise, which concluded on December 31 and involved extensive naval and air deployments around Taiwan.
The drills, conducted across five maritime areas and airspace surrounding the island, were described by the PLA as a 'stern warning' to so-called Taiwan independence forces, Focus Taiwan reported.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence earlier said the PLA launched 27 rockets on the second day of the drills, with 10 landing in waters within Taiwan's 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone, marking the closest Chinese live-fire activity ever recorded near the island.
China's actions have drawn sharp international criticism, with the European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines voicing serious concern over the exercises.
The European External Action Service warned that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are vital to global security and prosperity.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's National Security Council Secretary-General and former foreign minister Joseph Wu thanked the United States for urging restraint following China's latest military exercises.
In a post on X, Wu said China's drills were aimed at intimidation and coercion and warned that such actions are destabilising for the Indo-Pacific.
Wu's remarks came amid heightened concern in Taipei and among regional partners over the risk of miscalculation and threats to civilian air and maritime traffic arising from China's live-fire exercises around Taiwan.
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