By Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan President Lai Ching-te prolonged goodwill in the direction of and supplied cooperation with China on Sunday following two days of Chinese language struggle video games close to the island, as a gaggle of U.S. lawmakers arrived in Taipei.
China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its personal territory, carried out the navy drills on Thursday and Friday, calling them “punishment” after Lai’s inauguration speech on Monday which Beijing referred to as one other push for the island’s formal independence.
China has repeatedly lambasted Lai as a “separatist”. Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says solely Taiwan’s folks can resolve their future. He has repeatedly supplied talks however been rebuffed.
Talking at a gathering of his ruling Democratic Progressive Social gathering (DPP) within the southern metropolis of Tainan, Lai referred to as on China to “share the heavy responsibility of regional stability with Taiwan”, in line with feedback supplied by his get together.
Lai, who received election in January, mentioned he additionally “looked forward to enhancing mutual understanding and reconciliation with China via exchanges and cooperation, creating mutual benefit and moving towards a position of peace and common prosperity”.
He thanked the USA and different international locations for his or her expressions of concern in regards to the Chinese language workout routines.
“The international community will not accept any country creating waves in the Taiwan Strait and affecting regional stability,” Lai added.
The primary group of U.S. lawmakers to go to Taiwan since Lai took workplace arrived on the island on Sunday for a four-day go to, led by Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the Home International Affairs Committee.
McCaul, joined by a bipartisan group of 5 different lawmakers, will meet Lai on Monday morning to “exchange views on peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific”, Taiwan’s presidential workplace mentioned.
“Taiwan is a thriving democracy. The U.S. will continue to stand by our steadfast partner and work to maintain the status quo across the Taiwan Strait,” McCaul mentioned in a press release.
Taiwan’s authorities has condemned China’s struggle video games.
Over the previous 4 years, China has staged common navy actions round Taiwan because it seeks to stress the island’s authorities.
On Sunday, Taiwan’s defence ministry mentioned the garrison on Erdan islet, a part of the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands that sit subsequent to China’s Xiamen and Quanzhou cities, had found a “crude” cardboard field containing paper with political slogans on it, written within the simplified Chinese language characters utilized in China.
The ministry mentioned the field was suspected of being dropped by a drone exterior the road of sight, including, “It is a typical cognitive operation trick.”
In 2022, Taiwan shot down a drone off Kinmen after complaining of days of harassment.
China’s defence ministry didn’t reply calls exterior of workplace hours.
China’s navy has stored up a barrage of propaganda movies and animations directed at Taiwan because the workout routines started.
Its Japanese Theatre Command, which ran the drills, confirmed a video on Sunday of rockets firing in what it referred to in English as “cross-strait lethality”.
