Several Chinese fighter jets flew close to the median line that divides the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday as Beijing began bolstering military activity around Taiwan ahead of an expected visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Financial Times reported.
Chinese military units across the Southern Theater Command have entered a status of high alert, according to military officials in two neighboring countries as both Taiwan and the U.S. brace themselves for a potential violent reaction from Beijing, which has warned it would "not sit by idly" if Pelosi were to visit Taiwan.
Pelosi would be the first House speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
A Taiwanese official familiar with the Chinese military's movements said tension in the Southern Theater Command was the highest, with Pelosi expected to pass through its area of responsibility on her route from Malaysia to Taipei, the Financial Times reported.
In addition, China, which claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory, announced a series of war games in the South China Sea, which are scheduled to last from Tuesday morning until Saturday night.
The Japanese military has also reported that Chinese Navy patrols have increased over the past 10 days, with a missile destroyer, frigate and military surveillance ship circling Japan's south-western islands, frequently passing between Japan's westernmost territories and Taiwan.
Russia accused the United States of "provoking" China, in an apparent reciprocation of Beijing's tacit backing for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Hsu Yen-chi, a researcher at the Council on Strategic and Wargaming Studies in Taipei, told the Financial Times that "large-scale Chinese exercises around Taiwan after Pelosi leaves are the very least we should expect."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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