China starts three-day military exercises from April 8 to 10 in Taiwan Strait

China started three days of military exercises in the Taiwan Strait on Saturday in retaliation to the island nation President’s visit to the US, according to an announcement made by Beijing.

To “improve combat preparedness,” “United Sharp Sword” will take place from April 8 to 10, according to the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command. Taiwan's defence ministry claimed that three warships and 13 planes from China were spotted near the island.Reportedly, three warships and 13 planes from China were spotted near the island, according to Taiwan’s defence ministry.

Earlier on Friday, a day after President Xi Jinping claimed it is “wishful thinking” to expect Beijing to “compromise” on its stance on the self-ruled island, China sanctions two American organisations that welcomed Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen during her visit to the US and her meeting with the House Speaker.

On Thursday, Tsai met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the third-most senior official in the US, despite repeated warnings from Beijing to Washington that the meeting shouldn’t take place. A Taiwanese president had never previously met a US Speaker on American territory.

As visible from the reactions from China, any official communications between Taiwan and a foreign government are seen as an affront to Beijing’s assertions of sovereignty over the island.

As per the media reports, Tsai visited McCarthy and a cross-partisan group of legislative leaders at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. It was the president of Taiwan’s second high-profile meeting with an American official. Also, China sanctioned the Hudson Institute, which on March 30 held a gathering and gave Tsai its prize for global leadership. By sending aircraft carriers in a rare showdown in the Taiwan Strait, China and the US also displayed their naval 

It is worth mentioning that the US recognises China’s position on Taiwan under China’s long-standing “One China” policy, but it has never officially accepted Beijing’s claim on the island. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, it is also bound by law to provide the democratic island with the means to defend itself.

The head of state of the Republic of China (Taiwan) exercises a fundamental right of a sovereign nation when visiting other nations to conduct diplomatic activities, according to earlier remarks made by Taiwan’s foreign ministry on Friday. China is not permitted to get involved.

“China is overreacting when it uses this as a pretext to further suppress Taiwan’s international space and impose so-called sanctions on related individuals and organisations. Such irrational behaviour not only increases the Taiwanese people’s antipathy to China but also exposes the erratic and absurd nature of the communist regime,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.