CNN
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China has launched two days of large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan, calling it “punishment” for so-called “separatist acts.” It comes days after the self-governing island called on Beijing to halt military action and vowed to install a new democratically elected leader. Intimidation tactics.
As part of the drills, dozens of Chinese fighter jets carrying live ammunition carried out mock attacks on “important military targets” of the “enemy” alongside destroyers, frigates and missile speedboats, state broadcaster CCTV said.
The exercise, which began early Thursday and encircled Taiwan, will be the first real test for newly appointed leader Lai Ching-toku as he seeks to manage relations with Taiwan’s powerful authoritarian neighbor.
China’s ruling Communist party claims Taiwan as part of its territory despite never having governed it, and has vowed to seize the island by force if necessary.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said it began joint military drills involving the army, navy, air force and rocket forces in the area around Taiwan at 7:45 a.m. on Thursday.
The drills are taking place in the Taiwan Strait — the narrow body of water that separates Taiwan from mainland China — and in areas north, south and east of Taiwan, including around the islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin Island, just off China’s southeast coast, the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement.
Military spokesman PLA Navy Captain Li Xi said the drills were a “severe punishment for the separatist acts of the Taiwan independence army 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 official said the Chinese military also deployed about a dozen Chinese warships around Taiwan, as well as more than a dozen Japan Coast Guard vessels near Taiwan’s outlying islands.
Taiwanese officials said they were sending their warships to monitor the situation, adding that no Chinese aircraft carriers had taken part in the exercises so far.
Taiwan’s Lai is hated by Beijing as a “dangerous separatist” for defending the island’s sovereignty and distinct identity. He succeeded Tsai Ing-wen, who served as president for 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 Defense Ministry condemned China’s drills as “unreasonable 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 conflict. We are confident in safeguarding national security.”
“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.
Kuo added: “Even in the face of external challenges and threats, we have the confidence and ability to continue to defend our democracy and protect our national security.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on Thursday that he was closely monitoring developments in the Taiwan Strait and called on all parties to “refrain from any actions that could escalate tensions in the region.”
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.
While Taiwanese news outlets reported on Chinese military exercises, it was not the only headline on their agenda, which included information about recent political conflicts in the legislature and even information about tax filings during tax season. was.
Taipei’s main stock index, the Taiwan Trade Index, was up 0.26 percent in mid-afternoon trading.
Propaganda Promotion
China’s military exercises are as much about demonstrating its intentions internationally as they are about domestic audiences. China’s military and state media poured out propaganda to highlight coverage of the exercise, which remained a top trending topic on tightly controlled Chinese social media platforms 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 exercise as an exercise in encircling Taiwan and even threatening small outlying islands close to mainland China.
China’s state-run Central Television reported that multiple destroyers and frigates from the Eastern Theater Navy were “cruising at high speed in multiple directions in the waters surrounding Taiwan, preparing to approach the island from all directions.” .
Meanwhile, the military air force has sent dozens of fighter jets to Taiwan’s main island and outlying islands, CCTV reported.
“With the support and auspices of the Army and Rocket Forces, multiple aircraft types were formed, loaded with live munitions, and flew into designated airspace to establish multiple attack positions and coordinated with destroyers, frigates, and missile fast boats to simulate attacks on “the enemy’s high-value military targets and reconnaissance and patrol aircraft,” the report said.
In another report, CCTV released a series of posters called “magic weapons to kill separatists” promoting Taiwanese independence.
These include the J-20 and J-16 fighter jets, the Type 052 destroyer and Type 071 amphibious transport dock, and the Dong Feng ballistic missile, although the report did not say whether they were being used in the ongoing exercises.
Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at U.S. Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said China was trying to pressure Taiwan’s older and more limited equipment.
For example, “Taiwan’s F-16s are more than 20 years old, and with each flight hour these aircraft get closer to refurbishment, requiring them to be out of service for 1 to 4 months. “It emphasizes the power of the game and keeps them on their toes,” 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.
Officials in Washington had been anticipating the possibility of Chinese provocations around the inauguration for months and had been discussing contingency plans as part of their planning, officials said.
Officials say U.S. officials often prepare for a Chinese show of force during times of heightened tensions, such as the swearing-in of a new president in Taiwan.
“Any time there is an action taken that highlights Taiwan in the international sphere, it is not surprising that the Chinese side feels compelled to make a statement in some way,” Marine Lt. Gen. Steven Skrenka, deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told the Australian National Press Club on Thursday.
In August 2022, China held large-scale war games around Taiwan to show its dissatisfaction with then-US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei. In its biggest show of force in years, Beijing fired missiles into the waters around the island and simulated a blockade with fighter jets and warships.
A similar siege exercise was also conducted in April 2023.
Chinese military aircraft now regularly enter Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and fly across the median line of the Taiwan Strait. The median line is an unofficial border that Beijing does not recognize, but until recently China generally respected it.
Beijing has also been piling on pressure for Lai’s inauguration: Just days before Lai’s inauguration, Taipei said on May 15 that it had detected 45 Chinese military aircraft near Taiwan, the most in a single day this year.
Evan A. Feigenbaum, vice president for research at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said China’s recent drills are “intimidation tactics, part of a pattern, and not a sign of imminent war.” There is.
“Beijing has a deep and powerful arsenal of threats that it will combine and intensify again and again to present a range of options for intimidation and pain,” he wrote on social platform X.
Some defense experts said the name of China’s latest military exercise, “Joint Sword-2024A,” hinted at the possibility of another exercise 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 training is part of a pattern.
“This is not a surprise, nor is it a tactical response to Chairman Lai’s speech. These exercises are part of the People’s Liberation Army’s long-term, strategic preparation to win a war for Taiwan,” he told CNN.
