President Lai vows to safeguard Taiwan

President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday vowed to defend Taiwan’s freedom while preserving peace in the region, as Beijing began two days of drills around Taiwan as “punishment” for “separatist acts.”

As of 2pm, China had dispatched 15 combat ships, 16 coast guard ships, and 42 fighter jets and early warning aircraft during the first day of its “Joint Sword-2024A” exercises around Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense told a news conference.

The exercises were launched by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command soon after it made an announcement at 7:45am yesterday, said Major General Huang Wen-chi (黃文?), assistant deputy chief of staff for intelligence.

Of the Chinese coast guard ships, four were detected off the east coast of Taiwan, three were off the southeast coast and nine were in waters near Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, he said.

Twenty-eight of the 42 aircraft entered the nation’s response zone, Huang said.

“Unlike China’s previous military exercises around Taiwan, it did not give precise longitudes and latitudes in which military exercises would be held, nor did it announce no-fly zones,” he said.