Taiwan Signals Likely End to Latest Chinese Drills

Taiwan's defense ministry on Thursday closed an emergency response center opened earlier this week in response to what it said were stepped up Chinese military activities nearby, likely signaling an end to Beijing's maneuvers.

Taiwan's defense ministry on Monday went on the alert and activated the center after reporting a large rise in Chinese military activity, both around the island and more broadly in the East and South China Seas.

China's military has made no announcement about any drills taking place. Beijing views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory - a claim rejected by the government in Taipei.

Taiwan's defense ministry, in a report by its official news service, said Chief of the General Staff Mei Chia-shu visited the response center and ordered it disbanded, but said the military should continue to watch China's movements closely.

With the response center's activation, the armed forces were able to gain valuable results in terms of combat effectiveness, it cited Mei as saying.

"The threat to Taiwan and the region posed by the communist military is complex and volatile," the ministry paraphrased him as saying.

The report did not provide an update on the current status of China's military.

However, two officials familiar with the security situation in the region told Reuters that Chinese navy and coast guard boats were gradually moving north, showing signs of pulling back their forces.

US SEES ELEVATED CHINESE ACTIVITY
Earlier on Thursday, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan said that Chinese military activity in the region is currently elevated but it did not see that wider activity as a response to President Lai Ching-te's recent U.S. visit.

Lai, who China detests as a "separatist", returned from a trip to the Pacific last Friday, during which he made what are officially transits in Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam.

A spokesperson for the American Institute in Taiwan said it continued to monitor with concern Chinese military activity near Taiwan and in the region.

"Although the PRC has not announced a 'Joint Sword' military exercise in response to President Lai's transit, PRC military activity is elevated in the region, consistent with levels we have seen during other large exercises," it said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

China has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan so far this year, "Joint Sword-2024A" and "Joint Sword-2024B", the last one in October.

"The elevated activity in the East China Sea and South China Sea follows a broader increase in the PLA's military posture and military exercises over the last several years. With that said, we do not see this wider activity as a response to President Lai's transit," the U.S. spokesperson added.

China's military is called the People's Liberation Army.

Security sources had said China could stage new drills to coincide with Lai's Pacific visit, and also to send a message to the incoming Trump administration about China's "red lines".

The spokesperson said the U.S. continued to call on China to avoid any destabilizing or escalatory actions that might undermine regional peace and stability and would continue coordinating with allies and partners regarding shared concerns.

The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan, but is its most important international backer and arms supplier. Lai and his government reject China's sovereignty claims.

Taiwan's defense ministry said on Thursday morning that over the past 24 hours it had detected 34 Chinese military aircraft operating around the island, down from the 53 aircraft it reported the previous day.

However, it said there was a rise in Chinese navy ships in the area to 16 from 11 the prior day.