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China-Taiwan: Aircraft carrier 'seal off' island on day three of drills

China military publish pictures on Monday wey show fighter jets reportedly for east of Taiwan

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 Source: BBC

China don finish practicing how to "seal off" Taiwan for three days of drills wia e appear to use one aircraft carrier to launch jets towards di island.

Taiwan say e bin detect jets for east side of di kontri, while China say im Shandong aircraft carrier bin take part for di drill.

Beijing begin di exercises on Saturday afta Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen meet wit di US House Speaker for California.

Di drill sha no big reach di kain wey dem bin do afta Nancy Pelosi visit to Taipei last August.

Taiwan dey see imsef as a sovereign state. China dey see am as im breakaway province wey dem go eventually bring back under Beijing control - by force, if necessary.

On Monday, China say im drill end successfully. Taiwan bin earlier say im bin see anoda 70 warplanes and 11 ships for im surrounding waters.

One map of di areas wia di planes fly pass wey Taiwan defence ministry release, show four J-15 fighter jets for di island east side – dis suggest say di Chinese military bin for di first time, simulate or practice how to strike from di east, instead of di west wia China mainland dey.

Analysts say e dey possible say di jets come from China Shandong aircraft carrier - one out of di two of dis carrier wey e get – wey dem currently send go di western Pacific ocean, about 320km from Taiwan.

China military confirm on Monday for one statement say di Shandong bin "participate" for Monday exercises.

E say fighter planes wey dey bin load wit ammunition bin "carry out multiple waves of simulated strikes on important targets".

Japan defence ministry tok on Monday say di Shandong conduct air operations di past few days.

Jet fighters and helicopters take off and land on di carrier 120 times between Friday and Sunday, di Japanese ministry say.

Also on Monday di US send di USS Milius, wey be guided-missile destroyer, through part of South China Sea about 1,300km south of Taiwan.

China say di ship bin "illegally intrude" for im water, while US insist say di operation dey consistent wit international law.

Washington don call on China many time to match break afta President Tsai meeting wit Kevin McCarthy.

Beijing, meanwhile, warn US and Taiwan of "resolute counter-measures" if Madam Tsai meet Oga McCarthy.

China announce di drill afta top foreign leaders wey im bin dey host - including French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – leave di kontri.

Macron later beg Europe make dem no drag dem sef enta di palava between Washington and Beijing ontop Taiwan. Dis comment don make some pipo para.

On im flight out of China, im tell tori pipo say Europe dey face di risk of getting "caught up for di crises wey no be our own" and dis go make am hard to build "strategic autonomy".

China drills begin on Saturday afta Madam Tsai return from her 10-day trip to US and Central America.

Afta Madam Pelosi high-profile visit to Taiwan last August, as di US House of Representatives Speaker, China do four days military drills, di kain wey no ever happun before. E fire ballistic missiles enta di sea wey surround Taiwan.

However, some sabi pipo say dat kain military exercises fit no mean anytin afta some time.

"To maintain di same fear factor, [China go] need to make am bigger and bigger each time if not dia action go become normal afta some time," Ian Chong, wey be non-resident scholar for Carnegie China, tok.

Source: BBC