Hong Kong/Taipei
CNN
—
Taiwan has condemned the latest round of Chinese military exercises around the self-ruled island as an “unreasonable provocation” after Beijing described warships and warplanes as a “stern warning” of “separatist activities by the Taiwan Independence Forces”.
Chinese Army’s Eastern Theater Command said Monday The exercises, which involve joint operations by the army, navy, air force and missile force, are being conducted in the Taiwan Strait – a narrow body of water that separates the island from mainland China – as well as encircles Taiwan.
China’s military exercises around Taiwan, a democratic nation of 23 million people, have become more frequent in recent years and coincided with events that have angered Beijing.
In August 2022, China began a week-long military exercise following a visit to the island by then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Similar exercises took place in May after the inauguration of Taiwanese President Lai Tsing-te, whom Beijing denounced as a “dangerous separatist”. The latest drills, codenamed Joint Sword-2024B, are a continuation of the exercise carried out five months ago.
Ahead of the exercises, the Eastern Theater Command released a campaign video titled “Ready for War” on its social media accounts.
The nearly one-minute video shows fighter jets, warships and amphibious assault ships in the air and at sea, as well as mobile missile launchers being moved into place. The command is “at all times ready for war and ready to fight at any time,” the accompanying text says.
In a statement, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it strongly condemned the exercise as an “unreasonable provocation” by China and that it had dispatched its own forces.
A statement from Taiwan’s presidential office called on China to “stop military provocations that undermine regional peace and stability, and stop threatening Taiwan’s democracy and independence.”
President Lai convened national security meetings to discuss responses to the drills.
“In the face of external threats, I want to assure my comrades that the government will continue to protect the democratic and independent constitutional system, defend democratic Taiwan and safeguard national security,” Lai said in a post on Facebook.
On Sunday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning entered waters south of Taiwan near the strategic Bashi Channel, which separates the island from the Philippines. Later, the Eastern Theater Command confirmed that the carrier squadron was conducting exercises east of Taiwan in “ship and jet coordination, joint air control, and sea and land attacks,” according to CCTV.
The exercises came after President Lai delivered a speech on Thursday, Taiwan’s national day, in which he said the island was “not subordinate” to China and that Beijing had “no right to represent Taiwan”.
The speech followed earlier comments where he said it was “absolutely impossible” for Communist China to become Taiwan’s homeland and that Taiwan was already a “sovereign and independent country”.
Lai has long faced Beijing’s ire for supporting Taiwan’s sovereignty and rejecting the Chinese Communist Party’s claims to the island.
Although it has never taken control of Taiwan, China’s ruling Communist Party has vowed to “reunify” the self-governing democracy, by force if necessary. But many on the island consider themselves Taiwanese and have no desire to be part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Successive Chinese leaders have vowed to one day conquer Taiwan. But Xi Jinping, China’s most assertive leader in decades, has escalated rhetoric and aggression against the democratic island, fueling tensions across the strait and raising fears of a military conflict.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) began the drills on Monday with “ships and aircraft approaching Taiwan Island from different directions”.
The exercises focused on “sea-air combat-based patrolling, blockade of key ports and areas, attack on sea and land targets, as well as joint capture of extensive superiority”.
The PLA did not say whether the drills included live-fire exercises, and so far, China has not fired any missiles. Previous exercises in 2022 include the launch of missiles.
A map released by the command shows exercises taking place in nine areas around Taiwan and its outlying islands near mainland China.
The exercise also involved China’s coast guard, which operates in areas around Taiwan and its outlying islands of Matsu and Dongyin, off China’s southeast coast.
Between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. local time Monday, Taiwan’s defense ministry detected 25 Chinese aircraft, 16 of which crossed the center line, an informal demarcation point in the Taiwan Strait that Beijing does not recognize but largely respected until recent years.
A total of seven Chinese warships and additional coast guard vessels were spotted near the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said.
On Monday, Taiwan’s coast guard said it intercepted and detained a Chinese man on a boat near the Kinmen Islands. As the incident took place with a military exercise, It cannot rule out the possibility that it is part of China’s “grey zone” strategy against Taiwan, and it has heightened its vigilance.
Gray zone tactics refer to actions that fall below what are considered acts of war.
Chinese military exercises in the Western Pacific are estimated to be a multi-billion dollar operation. By 2023, China has spent more than $15 billion to deploy its warships, most of which are stationed in the South China Sea, and its air force’s aircraft — most of which are registered in the Taiwan Strait — according to Taiwanese military documents seen by CNN in August and first reported by Reuters.
During Chinese exercises around Taiwan in May, 91 warship sails logged more than 2,200 operating hours, at an estimated cost of $12.7 million. Taiwan produced 111 aircraft and registered Chinese jets, costing China $47.8 million.
The US said it was “deeply concerned” by the latest military drills, a “response to routine annual talks with military provocations” that were “unnecessary and risk escalating”.
“We call on the PRC to exercise restraint and refrain from any actions that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the wider region,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
This story has been updated with additional information.
