Military exercise
China threatens Taiwan’s independence supporters with bloodshed
Fighter planes of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) over Taiwan
© Li Bingyu/Xinhua/DPA
Shortly after the inauguration of the new president in Taiwan, China is rattling its sabers. Beijing is not just demonstrating its power with a military maneuver.
A few days after the inauguration of the new president in Taiwan, China announced a large-scale military exercise around the East Asian island republic. “This is also a harsh punishment for the separatist forces of independence Taiwan and a serious warning against interference and provocation by external forces,” said spokesman for the East Division of the People’s Liberation Army, Marine Col. Li Xi, on Thursday. The army, navy, air force and the missile force would hold exercises on Thursday and Friday the strait between China and Taiwan (Taiwan Strait) and around Taiwan. The exercise is expected to be the largest in about a year.
According to the information, the military wants to train joint combat readiness on water and in the air as well as attacks on key targets. Ships and planes would approach Taiwan from the north and south for “patrols” and would also come close to several islands, such as the island of Kinmen, just a few kilometers from mainland China.
Beijing also addressed drastic words to Taiwanese independence supporters. “The independence forces will end up with crushed skulls and blood” after being confronted with China’s “grand” plan of “complete unification” with Taiwan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in Beijing on Thursday.
Taiwan reacts with regret and anger
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry condemned the military exercise as an “irrational provocation” that threatened peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The armed forces on sea, on the ground and in the air were deployed to “defend freedom and democracy with practical actions,” Taipei said. The ministry did not provide further details about the measures.
Presidential spokeswoman Karen Kuo said it was “regrettable” that China was engaging in “unilateral, provocative military behavior” that threatened Taiwan’s democracy and freedom as well as regional peace and stability. “In the face of external challenges and threats, we will continue to defend democracy.”
The deputy commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Stephen Sklenka, said that Chinese military exercises were expected. “Just because we expect this behavior does not mean we should not condemn it, and we must condemn it publicly.” The People’s Republic’s actions are “worrying.”
China’s message to Taiwan’s new president
The background to the now announced exercise is likely to be the inauguration of the newly elected Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Monday. His Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the presidential election in January and supports Taiwan’s independence. China had described Lai as a “dangerous separatist” who would bring “war and decline” to the island. Lai said at his inauguration on Monday that Taiwan must demonstrate its “determination in defending the nation in the face of China’s many threats and infiltration attempts.”
The warning is also likely to apply to Taiwan’s allies, particularly the United States, which has promised the island republic support in the event of a defense and regularly supplies it with weapons, much to Beijing’s annoyance.
China considers Taiwan a breakaway province, although 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 by military force. In addition to regular exercises by the armed forces, fighter planes fly towards Taiwan almost every day to demonstrate the military power of the People’s Liberation Army.
Most recently, China announced similar military exercises around Taiwan in August 2023 after Lai, then vice president, stopped off in the US during a trip to Paraguay. In 2022, China conducted major military exercises after Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, visited Taiwan.
Note: This article has been updated.