Donald Trump says he’s not worried about China conducting military drills around Taiwan

US President Donald Trump said he was not concerned about China’s military drills around the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own.

“I have a great relationship with President Xi Jinping and he didn’t tell me anything about (the exercises). I certainly saw it,” Trump told reporters at a news conference on Monday.

“No, nothing worries me. They’ve been conducting naval exercises in the area for 20 years,” he said of the drills, which have intensified in recent years and now include a simulated blockade of the island.

exercise, Starting from Monday, This occurred nearly two weeks after the announcement by the U.S. One of the largest arms sales ever to Taiwan.

The drill is The Chinese military said it warned against “Taiwan independence separatist forces” and “external interference.”

This included a 10-hour live-fire exercise in sea and airspace at five locations around the island.

The Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command, which is responsible for the Taiwan Strait, said it had dispatched destroyers, frigates and fighter-bombers to test “sea and air coordination” and “comprehensive containment capabilities.”

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it spotted 130 Chinese military aircraft in Taiwan on Tuesday morning, 90 of which crossed the “central line” – an unofficial border dividing China and Taiwan that China denies is valid.

However, such incursions continue to occur even without drills, as Beijing conducts so-called “drills.” Gray Zone Warfare Tactics It is designed to weaken Taiwan’s defense capabilities in the long term.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that more than a dozen Chinese naval vessels had been spotted near the island. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said the island’s armed forces were monitoring the situation and deployed aircraft, ships and coastal missile systems in response.

Taiwan’s presidential office criticized the drills, calling them a challenge to international norms.

On Tuesday morning, President Lai Qingde issued a statement on social media saying that the Chinese Communist Party’s escalation of military pressure “is not something a responsible major country should do.”

“We will act responsibly and will not escalate conflicts or provoke disputes,” he said, adding that Taiwan’s military and national security teams will “do their best to ensure national security.”

Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Susan Shirk told the BBC’s Newsday program that the “main audience” for this week’s exercises “is really the United States, Donald Trump and Japan, not the people of Taiwan.”

Ms. Shirk added that it was an “expression of determination and anger” over U.S. arms sales, which now include not only defensive weapons but also offensive equipment that could attack mainland China.

She also pointed out that there are domestic concerns in the United States that President Trump “is not as committed to the United States’ defense of Taiwan as previous presidents.”

“He is pursuing a transactional policy, and he may be willing to reduce some of the U.S. commitments to Taiwan in exchange for other trade or economic benefits,” she said.

Pacific Forum adjunct researcher Alexander Neal told the BBC that the ongoing exercises “are designed to demonstrate the capabilities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army at sea and in the air”.

Neal said Trump was “not wrong” about China’s intensification of such exercises over the past two decades, which was in line with China’s military modernization drive.

But he added, “I think[Trump]is deluding himself if he suggests that his rapport with Xi will have any impact on Xi’s approach to the Taiwan Strait.”

China has long vowed to “unify” Taiwan and has not ruled out using force to seize the island.

in recent years Increased pressure conducts military exercises over Taipei and regularly incursions into its waters and airspace. Taiwan plans to increase defense spending Modernizing the Armed Forces.

Although Trump has played down Beijing’s ongoing military exercises, his government recently announced an $11bn (£8.2bn) weapons package to Taiwan, including advanced rocket launchers, self-propelled howitzers and a variety of missiles.

The United States has formal ties with Beijing, not Taiwan, and has maintained tense diplomatic relations for decades. But it remains a powerful ally of Taiwan and its largest arms supplier.

China retaliated against the sale by imposing sanctions on several U.S. defense companies. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that any “attempt to use Taiwan to contain China will not succeed.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that China must “resolutely counterattack” what he called “continuous provocations by Taiwan independence forces” and “large-scale arms sales” by the United States.

He added that Taiwan’s “complete national reunification” is a “historic mission that we must accomplish.”