Sawt Falasteen - China in second day of 'Joint Sword' military drills encircling Taiwan

The move sparked condemnation from Taipei and calls for restraint from Washington, which said it was "monitoring Beijing's actions closely".

Dubbed "Joint Sword", the three-day operation -- which includes rehearsing an encirclement of Taiwan -- will run until Monday, the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command said.

China's war games saw planes, ships and personnel sent into "the maritime areas and air space of the Taiwan Strait, off the northern and southern coasts of the island, and to the island's east", the army said.

A report from state broadcaster CCTV said: "The task force will simultaneously organise patrols and advances around Taiwan island, shaping an all-round encirclement and deterrence posture."

The report went on to detail the type of weaponry China was putting through its paces, including "long-range rocket artillery, naval destroyers, missile boats, air force fighters, bombers, jammers and refuellers".

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen immediately denounced the drills, which come after she met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.

She pledged to work with "the US and other like-minded countries" in the face of "continued authoritarian expansionism".

In Washington, a State Department spokesperson said the United States had "consistently urged restraint and no change to the status quo", but noted it had ample resources to fulfil its security commitments in Asia.

The United States has been deliberately ambiguous on whether it would defend Taiwan militarily, although for decades it has sold weapons to Taipei to help ensure its self-defence.

- Live-fire exercises -

Exercises on Monday will include live-fire drills off the coast of China's Fujian province, which faces Taiwan.

"These operations serve as a stern warning against the collusion between separatist forces seeking 'Taiwan independence' and external forces and against their provocative activities," said Shi Yin, a PLA spokesman.

"The operations are necessary for safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

China views democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to take it one day, by force if necessary.

Taiwan's defence ministry said on Saturday that as many as nine Chinese warships had been detected around the island, along with dozens of aircraft.

The number of aircraft crossings into Taiwan's southwestern air defence identification zone (ADIZ) was the highest recorded in a single day this year, according to data collected by AFP.

"The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) deliberately created tension in the Taiwan Strait, which... has a negative impact on the security and economic development of the international community," the defence ministry said.

The drills came hours after the departure from Beijing of French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in China to urge his counterpart Xi Jinping to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

In August last year, China deployed warships, missiles and fighter jets around Taiwan in its largest show of force in years following a trip to the island by McCarthy's predecessor, Nancy Pelosi.

Tsai returned to Taiwan on Friday after visiting her island's dwindling band of official diplomatic allies in Latin America, with two US stopovers that included meetings with McCarthy and other lawmakers.

burs-je/smw

Y.Zaher--SF-PST