China War Games Around Taiwan End But Tensions Remain

Taiwanese Ministry of Defence said that China used 66 aircraft and 14 warships in its military exercises encircling the self-ruled island on Sunday as the four-day show of force drew to an end.

• The U.S. and China continued to trade barbs over the PLA's war games around Taiwan, with the White House accusing Beijing of attempts to “change the status quo.”
• Taiwan complained that China's military drills appeared to simulate attacks on its main island and Taiwanese ships. Beijing also deployed drones to Taiwan's outlying islands, while source reports suggested that its warships briefly violated the so called median line.
• Contrary to what some were expecting, Beijing did not postpone the end-date of the drills and most of its NOTAMs and navigational warnings for areas around Taiwan have now expired. However, it announced a fresh round of military exercises on the Bohai and Yellow Seas starting today.
• In addition, China's state TV reported that the People's Liberation Army will from now on conduct "regular" military exercises east of the median line, which marks an informal border of control on the Taiwan Strait.

Fig. 1: Flight Paths Of PLA Aircraft (7 August)

Source: Ministry of National Defence, ROC