China issued a statement following military activities around Taiwan

On December 9, the Taiwan Defense Agency put on alert and activated an emergency response center after recording a large increase in Chinese military activity, around the island and more broadly in the sea. East China and East Sea, according to Reuters.

The Chinese military has made no announcement about any ongoing exercises.

In a statement responding to questions about Taiwanese leader Lai Qingde’s recent visit to Hawaii and the US territory of Guam and whether China will hold military exercises, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not provide confirmation. accept or deny, just say that “tactics and trends always change”.

“Whether or not to hold exercises and when to hold them is a matter for us to decide for ourselves according to our needs and the situation. Regardless of whether exercises are held or not, the People’s Liberation Army will not be absent.” face and will not be weak in the fight against national independence and unification,” the Chinese Ministry of National Defense emphasized in the statement.

China’s Ministry of National Defense also announced that any reliance on “foreign forces to seek independence”, a phrase China often uses to warn the US against supporting Taiwan, will be severely punished. difficult and “certain to fail”.

Late on December 12, the Taiwan Defense Agency announced it had disbanded its emergency response center, signaling the end of China’s current military operations, according to Reuters.

By this morning, the Taiwan Defense Agency said it had only detected 12 Chinese military aircraft operating near the island in 24 hours, down from 34 recorded the previous day.

Taiwan’s coast guard also said this morning that nine Chinese coast guard ships off the southeast and southwest coast of Taiwan had headed north after carrying out activities that Taiwan considered “improper”. ” in recent days, according to Reuters.