(NewsNation) — The U.S. Department of State is urging China to “act with restraint” as the People’s Liberation Army performs joint military drills in Taiwan.
“We strongly urge Beijing to act with restraint. Using a normal, routine, and democratic transition as an excuse for military provocations risks escalation and erodes longstanding norms that for decades have maintained peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is critical for regional and global security and prosperity and a matter of international concern,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement Saturday.
China’s military said its two-day exercises around Taiwan were punishment for separatist forces seeking independence. It sends navy ships and warplanes around the island almost daily to wear down Taiwan’s defenses seeking to intimidate its people, who firmly back their de facto independence.
Taiwan scrambled jets and put missile, naval and land units on alert Thursday over the Chinese military exercises being conducted around the self-governing island.
Beijing, meanwhile, claims the island is part of China’s national territory.
“We are monitoring PRC activities closely and coordinating with allies and partners regarding our shared concerns,” Miller said in the statement.
In his inauguration address on Monday, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te called for Beijing to stop its military intimidation and pledged to “neither yield nor provoke” the mainland Communist Party leadership.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.