By Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Thursday ordered defence and security units to step up their monitoring and intelligence efforts in response to China’s military activities, which he said have not abated even as tensions rise in the Middle East.
Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has, along with Japan, been tracking the movement of two Chinese aircraft carriers conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time.
Lai, in a statement released by his office after meeting with defence officials, said the conflict between Israel and Iran has led to a “chain of global security challenges.”
“From the perspective of our country and even the Indo-Pacific region, it is worth paying special attention to the fact that China’s military pressure in the entire region of the first and second island chains has not slowed due to the situation in the Middle East,” he said.
“The actions of the two aircraft carrier groups of the Shandong and Liaoning in the relevant waters of the first and second island chains in the past few days have posed considerable risks for the Indo-Pacific region and have aroused the heightened concern of the international community.”
The first island chain refers to an area that runs from Japan southeast to Taiwan, the Philippines, and Borneo, while the second island chain spreads further out into the Pacific to include places such as the U.S. territory of Guam.
Lai said he had asked the defence and security teams to strengthen their monitoring of regional developments and enhance their “intelligence gathering and research capabilities.”
At the same time, Taiwan should maintain close coordination with its “friends” to ensure a swift response to any “emergencies,” he added.
China’s Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment outside of office hours.
China’s navy, which has been honing its abilities to operate farther from the country’s coast, said last week the carrier operations were “routine training” exercises that did not target specific countries or regions. China operates two carriers, with a third undergoing sea trials.
(Reporting by Ben BlanchardEditing by Rod Nickel)
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