China warns US – 'Those who play with fire are bound to get burned': Beijing sends 18 fighter jets and bombers into Taiwan Strait as America increases support for the island
China flew 18 warplanes over the Taiwan Strait in an unusually large show of force today during a US envoy's visit to the island.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army staged combat exercises over the strait in the second round of war games this month as the Trump administration increases its support for Taiwan.
The island's defence ministry said two bombers and 16 fighter jets from China's Eastern Theatre Command had crossed into Taiwan's air defence zone on Friday.
'Those who play with fire are bound to get burned,' Chinese defence ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang told reporters in Beijing.
The warning came as US official Keith Krach held talks with Taiwanese ministers on Friday, becoming the highest-ranking State Department official in 40 years to visit the island which China regards as its own renegade territory.
An image released by Taiwan's defence ministry shows a Chinese H-6 bomber flying near the Taiwanese 'air defence identification zone' today in a show of force by Beijing
A map released by Taiwanese officials showing the routes of Chinese PLA (People's Liberation Army) aircraft which crossed into the air defence zone that surrounds the island
Krach also met with business leaders over lunch and was due to dine with President Tsai Ing-wen later on Friday.
China cut contacts with Taiwan's government following Ms Tsai's 2016 election, but she was re-elected by a wide margin earlier this year.
Ren called the drills a 'legitimate and necessary action taken in response to the current situation across the Taiwan Straits to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity'.
'Recently, the US and [Taiwan's ruling] Democratic Progressive Party authorities have stepped up their collusion and frequently stir up troubles,' Ren told reporters.
'Whether it is using Taiwan to contain China or relying on foreign powers to threaten others, it is wishful thinking and is destined to be a dead end.'
In a brief message, the Eastern Theatre Command said the exercises involved naval and air force units in the Taiwan Strait aimed at testing their joint operations capacity.
China's foreign ministry also defended the move, with spokesman Wang Wenbin saying it has the 'firm will, full confidence and sufficient ability to thwart all external interference and separatist actions by Taiwan independence forces'.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its own territory and strongly opposes any type of formal interaction between other countries and the self-ruled island democracy.
Mr Krach's trip follows an August visit by US health secretary Alex Azar, the highest-level Cabinet official to visit since America switched its formal relations from Taiwan to Beijing in 1979.
It is one of a series of moves by the Trump administration to strengthen relations with Taiwan, including stepped-up arms sales and support for the island's participation in international forums.
US envoy Keith Krach (at the front of the line, wearing a mask) arrives at the Sungshan airport in Taipei on Thursday
Before Mr Krach's arrival, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, had lunch with Taiwan's top official in New York.
On Saturday, the last day of his visit, Mr Krach will also attend a memorial service for former President Lee Teng-hui, who led the island's transition to democracy and died at age 97 in July.
Analysts say the Chinese military response is a clear message to the US to stop what it is doing, after taking similar actions when the health secretary visited in August.
'I think the Chinese are using this tool to try and stop the kind-of diplomatic relationship between the US and Taiwan. It's very clear from them,' said Alfred Wu, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have already reached high levels as the governments spar over the coronavirus pandemic, trade, technology, Hong Kong and the South China Sea.
Last week, Taiwan said Chinese warplanes entered its airspace over two daysduring large-scale war games that it called a 'serious provocation'.
Such actions by the Chinese military threaten the entire region, it said, calling on the international community to respond.
Despite the frequency of the exercises, analysts said it does not mean imminent war.
'The signal from Beijing is very, very clear, but does that mean a prelude to war? No, far from it,' said Chong-Pin Lin, a former deputy defence minister in Taiwan.
