The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday denounced as a propaganda ploy a Chinese state media report that a group of Chinese H-6K bombers flew near Taiwan to practice “confrontation drills.”
Chinese state media late on Sunday publicized the alleged drills ahead of an expected meeting in South Korea between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
The MND has not reported any unusual activity lately.
Photo: Screengrab from the China Central Television’s Web site.
China Central Television’s Sina Weibo account said, without giving a date, that Chinese People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command units had conducted combat-oriented training to test their capabilities in areas such as air blockades and precision strikes.
“Several J-10 fighters flew in combat formation to a designated target airspace, and multiple H-6K bombers went to the waters and airspace around Taiwan island to carry out simulated confrontation drills,” it added, without providing the location.
The H-6K strategic bomber can carry nuclear weapons.
The MND said in a statement that the report was “clearly a public-opinion operation aimed at intimidation.”
“We call on our citizens to remain united in the face of such cognitive operations, to uphold freedom and democracy, and to defend our homeland together,” it added.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a request for comment.
In its daily bulletin of Chinese activities in the previous 24 hours, the MND yesterday morning reported just four Chinese military aircraft — three fighter jets in the Taiwan Strait and one support aircraft to the southwest of Taiwan.
Defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity through “concrete actions and safeguarding the peace and happiness of hundreds of millions of people is our solemn commitment,” the China Central Television report said.
It showed a video of bombs being dropped, and in one segment an air force officer says that the “coast of Taiwan can be clearly made out,” although it is not clear from the image whether any land can be seen.
Trump and Xi are expected to meet on the sidelines of a regional summit in South Korea this week to discuss their ongoing trade dispute.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said that Taiwan should not be concerned about the talks.
Taipei has over the decades enjoyed strong, although unofficial, support from Washington, which despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
In an interview with two Taiwanese YouTubers broadcast late on Saturday, President William Lai (賴清德) said peace had to rely on strength, pointing to his government’s commitment to increased defense spending.
“We have ideals about peace, but cannot have illusions to believe that an agreement on a piece of paper can achieve peace,” he added.
China has rebuffed multiple offers of talks from Lai, accusing him of being a “separatist.” Lai has said only Taiwanese can decide their future.
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