CNN
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China launched a large-scale, two-day military drill around Taiwan in what it called “punishment” for so-called “separatist acts”, days after the island’s new democratically elected leader called on Beijing to end its intimidation tactics.
As part of the exercise, dozens of Chinese fighter jets armed with live ammunition, along with destroyers, frigates and missile speedboats, carried out mock attacks on “important military targets” of the “enemy,” state broadcaster CCTV said. .
The drills, which began early Thursday and will encompass Taiwan, will be the first real test for newly appointed President Lai Ching-te as he tries to manage relations with Taiwan’s powerful authoritarian neighbour.
The Chinese Communist Party claims Taiwan as part of its territory despite never having controlled it and has vowed to seize it by force if necessary.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) announced that joint military drills involving the army, navy, air force and rocket forces began in the area surrounding Taiwan at 7:45 a.m. on Thursday.
The drills are being conducted in the Taiwan Strait (the narrow body of water separating Taiwan from mainland China) and in the north, south, and east of Taiwan. The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement that the attacks were also carried out in areas around Taiwan’s remote islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin, just off China’s southeast coast.
Colonel Li Bian, a spokesperson for China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy Command, called the exercise “a severe punishment for the separatist acts of Taiwanese independence forces and a serious warning against interference and provocation by external forces.”
A senior official in charge of Taiwan’s security affairs told CNN that as of noon Thursday, Taiwan had detected about 30 Chinese aircraft, most of which had crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). Told. The median line is the unofficial demarcation point of the Taiwan Strait, and although it is not recognized by the Chinese government, it was largely respected until recent years.
The Chinese military has deployed about 12 Chinese warships around Taiwan, as well as 12 Japan Coast Guard vessels near Taiwan’s remote islands, the official said.
Taiwanese officials said they were sending their warships to monitor the situation, adding that so far no Chinese aircraft carriers had taken part in the exercises.
Taiwan’s Mr. Lai is hated by Beijing as a “dangerous separatist” for his defense of Taiwan’s sovereignty and independent identity. Lai succeeded President Tsai Ing-wen, who served two terms, and began an unprecedented third consecutive term for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
The Chinese government condemned Lai’s inaugural speech, in which he called on China to stop threatening Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense condemned China’s exercises as “irrational provocations and actions that undermine regional peace and stability.”
The ministry said in a statement on Thursday that it had deployed naval, air and army forces to respond to the exercise.
“We will stand by with firm resolve and restraint. We do not seek conflict, but we will not avoid it either. We are confident in safeguarding our national security,” he said.
“It is regrettable that China’s unilateral military provocations threaten Taiwan’s democracy and freedom, as well as regional peace and stability,” Taiwan presidential spokeswoman Karen Kuo said in a statement.
“Even in the face of external challenges and threats, we have the confidence and ability to continue to safeguard our democracy and safeguard our national security,” Kuo added.
Taiwan’s 23 million people have long grown accustomed to the threat of Chinese military exercises, and life continued as normal Thursday in the capital Taipei.
Taiwanese news outlets reported on the China exercise, but the headlines on the agenda included information on recent political turmoil in Congress and even information on paying taxes during tax season.
Taipei’s main stock index, the Taiwan Trade Index, rose 0.26% in mid-afternoon trading.
Chinese People’s Liberation Army/Weibo
Chinese guided missile frigate ‘Nantong’ is seen participating in military exercises.
Promotion of propaganda
China’s military drills are often aimed at delighting domestic audiences as well as signaling its intentions to the international community. China’s military and state media have launched a flood of propaganda to highlight its coverage of the drills, which remained a top trending topic on China’s tightly controlled social media platforms on Thursday.
Footage of the exercise released by the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command showed the guided missile frigate Nantong and pilots boarding fighter jets at a military base.
Chinese state media and People’s Liberation Army rhetoric portrayed the exercises as training to encircle Taiwan and even threaten the small, outlying island near the Chinese mainland.
China’s state-run CCTV reported that a formation of destroyers and frigates from the Eastern Theater Command Navy was “sail[ing]at high speed in multiple directions in the waters around Taiwan, preparing to approach the island from all directions.”
Meanwhile, the command’s air force dispatched dozens of fighter jets to mainland Taiwan and surrounding islands, CCTV reported.
“With the support and cover of the Army and Rocket Force, multiple types of aircraft were assembled, loaded with live ammunition, and flown into predetermined airspace to establish multiple attack positions and simulate attacks. They worked in conjunction with destroyers, frigates, and missile speedboats,” the report said, “and high-value military targets of the ‘enemy’ as well as reconnaissance and patrol aircraft.”
In another report, CCTV released a series of posters called “magic weapons to kill separatists” promoting Taiwanese independence.
These include J-20 and J-16 fighter jets, Type 052 destroyers and Type 071 amphibious transport docks, and Dong Feng ballistic missiles, though the report did not say whether they were being used in the ongoing drills.
Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at U.S. Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said Beijing was trying to highlight Taiwan’s older and less abundant hardware.
For example, “Taiwan’s F-16s are more than 20 years old, and with every flight hour allocated to these aircraft, the aircraft and equipment move closer to refurbishment, resulting in them being out of service for 1 to 4 months. “The whole thing is taxing and tense,” he said.
Schuster said that in addition to training around Taiwan’s main island, the presence of forces such as the China Coast Guard in the waters of remote islands under Taipei’s effective control is “provocative.”
“Taiwan would be put in a difficult position. If it responded militarily or with force, it would risk provoking conflict,” he said.
Under President Xi Jinping, China has adopted a more assertive stance, increasing diplomatic, economic and military pressure on Taiwan as the island strengthens its informal ties with the United States.
In August 2022, China conducted large-scale military drills around Taiwan to express its displeasure over a visit to Taipei by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Beijing fired missiles into the waters around the island and simulated a blockade with fighter jets and warships, its biggest show of force in years.
A similar encirclement exercise was conducted in April 2023.
Chinese military aircraft now routinely violate Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and fly across the median line in the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial border not recognized by Beijing but which China generally respected until recently.
The Chinese government is also increasing pressure for Mr. Li to take office. On May 15, just days before Mr. Lai’s inauguration, the city of Taipei announced that it had detected 45 Chinese military aircraft around Taiwan, the highest number in a single day this year.
Evan A. Feigenbaum, vice president for research at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, called China’s recent exercises “intimidation tactics, part of a pattern, and not a sign of imminent war.” There is.
“Beijing has a robust coercion kitbag from which to mix and match, up and down and signal a range of options to coerce and inflict pain,” he wrote on social platform X.
Some defence experts said the name of China’s latest military drills – “Joint Sword 2024A” – suggested a series of further exercises could take place later this year.
Drew Thompson, a senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said the drill was part of a pattern.
“This is not a surprise, nor is it a tactical response to President Lai’s speech. These exercises are part of the People’s Liberation Army’s long-term strategic preparations to fight and win the war over Taiwan.” he told CNN.
