China deployed aircraft and ships to surround Taiwan on Monday, with Beijing saying the drills were aimed at sending a “strong warning” to “separatist” forces on the self-ruled island.
Beijing has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control and Monday’s drills represent the fourth round of large-scale war games in the past two years.
China’s exercise comes days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Beijing against taking action in response to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s speech during the island’s National Day celebrations.
Lai, who took office in May, has been more vocal than his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen in defending Taiwan’s sovereignty, angering Beijing, which calls him a “separatist.” Taiwan described the latest exercises as “irrational and provocative” and said it had sent “appropriate forces” in response.
AFP journalists saw four fighter planes taking off on Monday near Hsinchu Air Force Base, north of Taiwan.
The exercise, named Joint Sword-2024B, “tests the joint operational capabilities of troops from theater commands”, Beijing said.
They are taking place in “areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan island,” said Capt. Li Xi, spokesman for the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command.
The exercises are “focusing on the topics of sea-air combat-readiness patrol, blockade of major ports and areas,” Li said.
They also practiced “attack on sea and land targets” and “joint seizure of comprehensive superiority”.
China’s coast guard was also sent to conduct “inspections” around the island.
A picture released by the Coast Guard shows four fleets encircling Taiwan and moving in a counterclockwise direction around the island.
Taiwan said it had detected a “convoy” of Chinese coast guard vessels “in our northern, southwestern and eastern waters.”
China has increased military activity around Taiwan in recent years, dispatching warplanes and other military aircraft, while its ships maintain an almost constant presence around the island’s waters.
Taiwan said on Sunday it had detected a Chinese aircraft carrier group south of it in the Bashi Channel, a waterway that separates the island from the Philippines, which appeared to be headed to the western Pacific.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said on Monday, “All the country’s officers and soldiers are fully prepared in the face of enemy threats.”
“We are resolute and confident in ensuring national defense security.” – ‘Provocation’ – In his speech on Thursday, Lai vowed to “resist interference” of the island, and stressed that Beijing and Taipei are “not subservient to each other”. China warned after the speech that Lai’s “provocations” would result in “disaster” for the people of Taiwan. Beijing said on Monday that the drills were “a legitimate and necessary operation to safeguard state sovereignty and national unity.” Beijing’s state broadcaster CCTV issued a video warning: “The greater the provocation, the tighter the reins”. The current dispute between China and Taiwan dates back to a civil war in which Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces were defeated by Mao Zedong’s communist fighters and fled to Taiwan in 1949. Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party has long defended the sovereignty and democracy of Taiwan, which has its own government, military and currency. Beijing has tried to erase Taipei from the international arena, blocking it from global forums and cornering its diplomatic allies.
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