By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) — Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te on Friday praised the air force, navy, and coast guard for their swift response to China’s large-scale military drills.
“In response to China's military exercises, our army, navy, air force, and coast patrol colleagues responded carefully as quickly as possible and successfully completed various tasks,” Lai said during a visit to a military base and the Air Force headquarters in the capital, Taipei.
Lai thanked “all our brothers and sisters in the military and coast guard for their full efforts in safeguarding national security,” according to an official statement from his office.
China conducted large-scale drills around Taiwan this week, simulating a blockade of the island, after Lai’s national address last week, in which he asserted that Beijing had "no right" to represent Taiwan and that Taipei was not "subordinate" to China.
It was the third such drill since August 2022, though Taipei believes Monday's exercise was smaller in scale. China's coast guard also conducted drills near Taiwan the same day.
Beijing held its second drill of the year in May, shortly after Lai was inaugurated as president.
“We can see that our coast guard colleagues responded positively and resolutely to China's gray zone intrusion, using their lives to protect every inch of the sea,” Lai said.
His remarks came as Taiwan detected 19 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around the island early Friday.
China regularly flies military aircraft and sails vessels near Taiwan, which it considers a “breakaway province.”
Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.
In recent years, Taiwan has strengthened its ties with the US, which has supplied significant arms to the island, drawing strong opposition from Beijing.
Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo said Thursday that Taipei will receive the first batch of new F-16 fighter jets from the US by the end of the year, with the full delivery of 66 F-16Vs expected to be completed by the end of next year.
Beijing has criticized these arms sales — 16 by the Biden administration since 2021 — claiming the US is selling “overpriced, obsolete weaponry, moldy bulletproof vests, and expired ammunition” to Taiwan.