Washington [US], December 30: On December 29, US President Donald Trump commented on China's recent live-fire military exercises around Taiwan.
President Trump said he was not concerned about China's live-fire drills around Taiwan , seemingly dismissing the possibility that Chinese President Xi Jinping would order an attack, according to AFP.
"I have a great relationship with President Xi. And he hasn't said anything to me about that... I don't believe he would do that," Trump told reporters when asked about the drills, seemingly alluding to the possibility of China attacking Taiwan.
When asked if the exercises worried him, he replied, "No, nothing worries me at all. They've been conducting naval exercises in that area for 20 years. Now people see it a little differently."
On December 29, Xinhua News Agency quoted Shi Yi, spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese military , as saying that many forces from the command had just begun a military exercise called "Justice Mission 2025" around Taiwan.
Accordingly, the Eastern Theater Command is deploying army, navy, air force, and artillery troops to conduct exercises in the Taiwan Strait and in the northern, southwestern, southeastern, and eastern parts of Taiwan.
The aforementioned military exercise took place after the Trump administration approved a large new arms package for Taiwan. For decades, the U.S. has consistently pledged to guarantee Taiwan's right to self-defense, while maintaining ambiguity about whether the U.S. military would intervene in a potential attack, according to AFP.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper