China to conclude military exercises in Bohai and Yellow Sea
China will today conclude its military exercises in the southern Yellow Sea and Northern Bohai Sea.
The exercises come in the wake of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit, which Beijing strongly condemned. Aside from the military drills, China’s largest demonstrations to Taiwan in nearly 30 years, Beijing has also suspended climate and security talks with the US. Despite this, Pelosi has vowed that China will not succeed in isolating Taiwan–an attitude that has received rare bipartisan support in Congress.
A record number of Chinese aircraft have breached Taiwan’s airspace. Last Sunday, the People’s Liberation Army flew 66 sorties, 22 of which crossed into Taiwan’s southern air defense identification zone. While China officially seeks peaceful reunification with Taiwan, it has on multiple occasions threatened to take the island by force if Taipei declares formal independence.
Several military exercises are expected to continue, including another in the Bohai sea, which will last an additional three weeks. In the medium term, it is likely that China will conduct increasingly regular military drills near Taiwan. China’s continued refusal to cooperate with the US on security risks a potential increase in miscommunication or military accidents, as long as they keep communication channels cut off.
