China’s Intensifying Drills Raise Alarm in Taiwan Over Potential Sudden Attack

The G7 foreign ministers have denounced strongly China's recent military exercises around Taiwan as provocative and destabilising, and urged dialogue to achieve a peaceful outcome of the cross-Strait tensions.

The diplomats, in a joint statement on Sunday, declared, "These increasingly frequent and destabilising activities are raising cross-Strait tensions and put at risk global security and prosperity." They called for continued efforts to address differences peacefully through constructive cross-Strait dialogue.

The declaration comes after China's recent two-day military drills off the coast of Taiwan, which included long-range live-fire exercises in the East China Sea. The exercises were a major escalation of Beijing's trend of military pressure on the self-ruled island, raising international alarm that such drills could ultimately lead to an actual war.

Beijing asserts that Taiwan is part of China, and has not excluded force as a means to bring the island under Chinese control. While the majority of countries, including the United States, do not officially recognize Taiwan as a separate state, Washington strongly opposes force being used to change the status quo and remains committed to arming Taiwan with defensive weapons as part of its long-standing policy.

The G7 warning is made at a time of increasing international concern over security in the Indo-Pacific region, where China's aggressive behavior is increasingly perceived as a challenge to stability and international law.