<\/p>\n
Donald Trump has said he is not worried by China\u2019s live-fire military drills surrounding Taiwan and that he has a great relationship with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who \u201chasn\u2019t told me anything about it\u201d.<\/p>\n
The US president made the comments one day into the surprise attack simulation launched by the People\u2019s Liberation Army<\/a> (PLA) on Monday, and which continued into Tuesday with live missile launches into the Taiwan Strait.<\/p>\n The PLA, which is the armed wing of China\u2019s ruling Communist party, said it had deployed destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers, drones and long-range missiles \u201cin close proximity\u201d to Taiwan<\/a> on Monday to test \u201csea-air coordination and precise target hunting and neutralisation\u201d, including attacks on submarines and other maritime targets.<\/p>\n Beijing claims Taiwan is a Chinese province and is preparing to militarily annex it, with the aim of being capable of invasion by 2027, according to US intelligence from several years ago. In the meantime it deploys an array of military and non-military forms of harassment and intimidation to convince or coerce Taiwan to accept \u201cpeaceful reunification\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the 24 hours to Tuesday morning Taiwan\u2019s defence ministry said it had detected at least 14 navy vessels, 14 coast guard ships, one surveillance balloon, and 130 war planes and drones around Taiwan as part of the exercise China<\/a> has dubbed \u201cJustice Mission 2025\u201d.<\/p>\n Asked about the drills on Monday, Trump said he had a \u201cgreat relationship with President Xi, and he hasn\u2019t told me anything about it\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly have seen it \u2026 I don\u2019t believe he is going to be doing it,\u201d Trump said, appearing to refer to an actual invasion. \u201cNothing worries me.\u201d<\/p>\n The US is Taiwan\u2019s most significant backer in its resistance to Beijing\u2019s annexation plans, but Trump\u2019s stance \u2013 especially during his second term \u2013 has been inconsistent<\/a>. Trump met with Xi in October but said Taiwan \u201cdidn\u2019t come up\u201d. He is expected to visit Beijing for a more formal meeting next year.<\/p>\n On Tuesday morning a volley of live rockets was seen being fired from Pingtan, a Chinese coastal region closest to Taiwan\u2019s main island. A short time later the PLA said in a statement: \u201cAt 9:00 am, December 30, the ground forces of the PLA Eastern Theater Command conducted long-range live fire drills in the waters to the north of the Taiwan Island and achieved desired effects.\u201d<\/p>\n Taiwan\u2019s defence ministry said the impact sites were \u201cscattered around Taiwan\u2019s 24 nautical mile zone\u201d.<\/p>\n The defence minister, Wellington Koo, said the drills disregarded international norms and \u201cclearly aim to achieve cognitive warfare and deplete Taiwan\u2019s combat capabilities … and to create division and conflict within Taiwanese society\u201d.<\/p>\n The PLA and Chinese state media said these exercises focused on simulating a blockade of major ports in Taiwan, and repelling \u201cexternal foreign interference\u201d. An attack on Taiwan by Beijing is largely expected to draw in the US to defend Taiwan, and potentially Japan, according to recent statements by the country\u2019s prime minister which infuriated Beijing<\/a>.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s drills are the sixth and largest to target Taiwan since 2022, when major exercises surrounded Taiwan in retaliation for a visit by the then speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.<\/p>\n Such exercises take extensive planning and are usually part of general training, but the PLA often links them to perceived acts of provocation. This week Chinese officials and state media specifically cited a recent approval by the US government for a record $11bn weapons sales to Taiwan<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn response to the continuous provocations by pro-independence forces in Taiwan and the large-scale US arms sales to Taiwan, we must of course resolutely oppose and forcefully counter them,\u201d China\u2019s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said in a speech in Beijing.<\/p>\n