Singapore, Vietnam call for peace amid Chinese military drills around Taiwan

Singapore and Vietnam have called for regional peace and stability at a time when China was conducting large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan, Taiwan News reported. Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong warned that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would carry grave repercussions for all parties involved, as well as for the whole world, Taiwan News reported citing CNA.

While speaking in Tokyo, the deputy PM also called for dialogue between China and the United States. Further, the deputy prime minister of Singapore and the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for regional peace and stability as China conducted large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan on Friday.

Days after Taiwan's Lai Ching Te was sworn in as the island's President on May 20, China launched two-day-long military drills on Thursday and Friday (May 23-24) involving land, sea, air, and rocket forces, as per Taiwan News. China described the maneuvers as "punishment" for what it called President Lai Ching-te's Taiwan independence stance.

Further, Yong described the issue as the 'most potential point of conflict in the region.' and stated the possibility of accidents or misunderstandings would increase if the US and China saw each other as opponents. While addressing his Japanese audience in Tokyo, he said Singapore would welcome visits by planes and ships from Japan's Self-Defense Forces. The visits would assist Japan's role in fostering regional peace and security, Gan said.

Amid China's recent actions, US State Department said that it was "monitoring very closely" in coordination with the island nation, expressing confidence in its current force posture and operations in the region to ensure peace and stability, reported Focus Taiwan. A State Department spokesperson, in response to CNA, expressed concern over reports of China's People Liberation Army's (PLA) joint military exercises in the Taiwan Strait and around its vicinity.

Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin are all Taiwan-controlled territories in the Taiwan Strait close to China's southeast coast, Focus Taiwan reported. The median line of the Taiwan Strait served for decades as a tacit border between China and Taiwan, but China's military has more freely sent aircraft, warships and drones across it. (ANI)