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The exercises began three days after William Lai Chin-teh was sworn in as president of the island, which is claimed by China.
China has begun military drills in the sea and airspace around the self-ruled territory of Taiwan, according to Chinese state media.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command began the drills at 7:45 a.m. on Thursday (11:45 p.m. GMT) in the Taiwan Strait, the northern, southern and eastern parts of Taiwan, and around Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin islands.
According to a post on China’s Weibo website, military spokesman Colonel Li Xi said the two-day joint drills, involving the army, navy, air force and rocket force, were “a severe punishment for the separatist acts of the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and a stern warning against interference and provocation by external forces.”
The show of strength, codenamed “Joint Sword-2024A,” comes three days after Taiwan’s new president, William Lai Ching-de, took the oath of office and called on the Chinese government to stop “blackmailing” the island. I was disappointed. of itself.
China has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its goal of unification and is furious at Lai’s appointment, whom it considers a “troublemaker” and a “separatist.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense called the Chinese exercises “irrational provocations and actions that disrupt regional peace and stability” and said it had placed Taiwan’s military on “high alert” in response.
Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the German Marshall Fund’s Indo-Pacific program, said Beijing’s reaction to Lai’s election victory in January was relatively subdued.
“China has apparently decided to wait until the president gives his inaugural address before deciding on its response,” she told Al Jazeera, referring to China by its official initials. “It is clear that the Chinese government strongly opposes attempts to develop an overarching ‘Taiwan independence’ narrative aimed at changing the nature of cross-Strait relations. I expect that there will be a series of military, political and economic measures.
In his first address to the nation since taking the oath, Lai said, “The Republic of China, Taiwan, is a sovereign and independent nation whose sovereignty resides with the people,” and stressed that the government will not make any concessions on democracy and freedom.
He called on Beijing to “cease aggression against Taiwan” and work to “maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and region.”
The next day, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi lashed out.
“The ugly acts of Lai Qingde and others who betrayed their country and ancestors are shameful,” Wang said at a meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Kazakhstan, China’s Foreign Ministry reported.
There is nothing that can stop China from achieving “unification” and bringing Taiwan “back to the motherland,” he added. “All Taiwanese secessionists will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history.”
In an editorial on Wednesday, the state-run tabloid Global Times described Mr. Li’s first speech as head of state as a “vile act” and said it was “full of hostility, provocation, lies and deceit.” insisted.
China has stepped up its military activities around Taiwan since Lai’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was first elected president in 2016. Taiwanese officials often take more aggressive measures when they meet with politicians from the United States, Taiwan’s main ally, and in August 2022, then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. It later conducted a series of unprecedented military exercises.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said the actions had caused “serious damage to world peace and stability”.
It added that recent military exercises were conducted “under false pretenses” and highlighted China’s “hegemonic nature.”
China considers the Democratic Progressive Party to be an independence-minded “separatist” party. Presidents Tsai Ing-wen and Lai Ying-ming, who won a historic third term for the Democratic Progressive Party, say Taiwanese people should choose their own future.
Reporting by Erin Hale in Taiwan.
