Conflicts
China practices blockade of Taiwan with major maneuvers
Chinese fighter jets in the air: China is starting what is probably the largest military exercise in about a year. photo
© Li Bingyu/Xinhua/dpa
China’s military regularly exercises off Taiwan’s coast. But an event a few days ago particularly angered the Communist Party in Beijing. The large-scale maneuver is not just intended to be a signal to Taiwan.
As a “punishment” and a “warning” at the same time – shortly after the inauguration of the new president, China… Taiwan has begun a large-scale military exercise around the East Asian island republic.
“This is also a harsh punishment for the separatist forces of Taiwan independence and a serious warning against interference and provocation by external forces,” said the spokesman for the Eastern Branch of the People’s Liberation Army, Marine Colonel Li Xi. The army, navy, air force and missile forces have been holding exercises in the strait between China and Taiwan (Taiwan Strait) and around Taiwan since this morning until Friday.
According to the information, the Chinese military wants to train joint combat readiness at sea and in the air as well as attacks on key targets. Ships and aircraft would approach Taiwan from the north, south and east for “patrols” and also approach several islands, such as the island of Kinmen, which is only a few kilometers from the Chinese mainland. The Taiwan Strait is around 130 kilometers wide at its narrowest point.
Military expert on goals: Prevent energy imports and US support
Military expert Zhang Chi said on Chinese state television that China was simulating a blockade of Taiwan. The army wanted to practice stopping energy imports “as a lifeline” to Taiwan, cutting off escape routes for Taiwan’s politicians abroad and preventing support from allies such as the USA. The exercise is likely to be the largest since April 2023, in which China also rehearsed a blockade.
Taiwan’s Vice Defense Minister Po Horng-huei said the aim this time was obviously to show that China had control over the region. Unlike a large-scale exercise following then-US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022, this time China has not designated any no-go zones for ships or aircraft, he said.
The Taiwan Defense Ministry’s morning report on the People’s Liberation Army’s activities over the past 24 hours only mentioned one Chinese fighter jet and eight naval ships around Taiwan. The numbers could possibly only be significantly higher in Friday’s report. There were initially no figures available from the Chinese side.
Criticism from Taiwan: “Irrational provocation”
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry condemned the military exercise as an “irrational provocation” that threatened peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwanese forces on sea, on the ground and in the air have been deployed to “defend freedom and democracy with practical actions,” Taipei said. The ministry did not provide further details about the measures. “It is regrettable to see the unilateral military provocations that endanger Taiwan’s democracy and freedom as well as peace and stability,” said presidential spokeswoman Kuo Ya-hui.
The background to the exercise that has now been announced is likely to be the swearing-in of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te last Monday. His Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the presidential election in January and supports Taiwan’s independence, although Lai has not yet indicated that he wants to officially declare it. The ruling Communist Party in Beijing accuses the DPP of separatism. China’s government had interpreted Lai’s inaugural speech as a dangerous signal for independence and read a more radical approach into it. Lai had demanded, for example, that China must accept Taiwan’s existence.
Warning also to Taiwan’s allies
China considers Taiwan a breakaway province, even though independent and democratically elected governments have been in power there for decades. The leadership in Beijing has already threatened several times to unite the island, which has a population of more than 23 million, and the mainland using coercive military force. In addition to regular exercises by the armed forces, fighter jets fly to Taiwan almost daily to demonstrate the military might of the People’s Liberation Army.
The exercise is also likely to serve as a warning to Taiwan’s allies, particularly the United States, which has pledged support to the island republic in the event of a defense and regularly supplies it with weapons, much to Beijing’s annoyance.