newsmedia asked 7 months ago
Taiwan’s military said its forces were on alert and it was confident it could protect the island in response to the actions of the PLA
China has announced the immediate start of two days of military drills surrounding Taiwan, as “punishment” for what it called the “separatist acts” of holding an election and inaugurating a new president.
In response, Taiwan said sea, air and ground forces had been put on alert, and accused China of “irrational provocation and disruption of regional peace and stability”.
The drills are the first substantive response from China to the inauguration of Lai Ching-te as Taiwan’s fifth president on Monday, after winning the democratic election in January. Both Lai and his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen are from the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive party (DPP), which Beijing considers to be separatists.
Chinese state media reported on Thursday morning that the drills, code-named Joint Sword-2024A, would involve units from the army, navy, air force and rocket force, operating in the Taiwan Strait, to the north, south and east of the main island. Units will also operate around the islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin, which are all close to the Chinese mainland.
Analysts said the name of the exercise, suffixed “2024A” suggested more drills targeting Taiwan could be expected this year.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech during his inauguration ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan. On Tuesday China responded to the speech, warning of undefined reprisals
China warns of reprisals against Taiwan after president’s inauguration speech
Read more
A spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Li Xi, said the drills would “serve as a strong punishment for the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces”, state media agency Xinhua reported.
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/2024hd1080p-c2ad923e43d94d06934c2e75184994fc
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/challengers2024hd1080p-834f8d13fc1b4f6290ac7fce20fb7190
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/civil-war2024hd1080p-cb707d50dee3447a979d2021e457ab05
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/2-2024hd1080p-ab5b784f228e47169501cd2e40fc75df
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/10-10-2024hd1080p-56cd8a9526264e7ebad5470293b58896
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/2-dune-part-two-2024hd1080p-60c082d64fd147cea6d5aee4243eb731
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/4-kung-fu-panda-4-2024hd-bd0566c0189b4cb38d99d64ac9c755f3
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/ape-vs-mecha-ape-2023-677d446418f544238df3b4ba52cb56f1
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/chief-of-station-2024hd1080p-cfc8846a8dea48fba8039a4091b64fc8
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/2024hd1080p-1a5204a47aac428daa079f74c7cbcd47
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/no-way-up-2024hd1080p-55cb5bf253484ecd87a407b414b8ea6f
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/2024hd1080p-8342625695a848f69c8aa0abafb2d040
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/the-idea-of-you-2024hd1080p-5d5c726b13734769a42b0428256fc2a9
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/the-garfield-movie-2024-69f7094b24e84cae958fbac112c06a72
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/abigail-2024hd1080p-6cbcb608c63d4750b0b3f9d2bb1fbe85
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/immaculate-2024hd1080p-4b5e3ec36e9943f3b81cdab5d8efd0fe
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/road-house-2024hd1080p-c123a9c28e3e42e58ca54eb22060ec80
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/sting-2024hd1080p-c5dbf685d1ea48d1b8bff41ed456ddc6
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/2-rebel-moon-part-two-2024-6bfd5e0ecfe64439b068e93d3c7e4d1e
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/sasquatch-sunset-2024hd1080p-64adf4389dd545e2a1ac1a7ea9280a3a
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/2-force-of-nature-2024-ada9c432113944d9b7c7bab78063f223
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/the-fall-guy-2024hd1080p-da08a78b20644f7b88fa77eec6071760
https://id.pinterest.com/pin/875387246313694147/
https://sites.google.com/view/two-sensual-girls-brown-and-bl
“The current military exercise not only does not help peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but also highlights the hegemonic nature of the [Chinese Communist party],” Taiwan’s ministry of defence said.
Beijing claims Taiwan is a province of China, and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary. Taiwan’s government and people overwhelmingly reject the prospect of CCP rule, and Taiwan’s leaders have vowed to increase deterrence measures and boost defences, while urging China to cease its threats and return to dialogue.
In recent years, China has heightened its pressure on Taiwan, with increased air force incursions into its air defence identification zone, economic coercion, and cognitive warfare, designed to convince Taiwan to accept a Chinese takeover without war.
Maps of the drill areas published on Thursday morning showed the drills operating in similar areas as in 2022, when China surrounded Taiwan with live-fire exercises in response to a visit to Taipei by the then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi. However, analysts noted the new addition of Taiwan’s offshore islands, suggesting the PLA was practising new strategies.
This year Kinmen and Matsu, islands close to the Chinese mainland, have been increasingly targeted by Chinese Coast Guard patrols.
After a fatal collision between an illegal Chinese fishing boat and a Taiwanese Coast Guard vessel near Kinmen in February, China responded with increased patrols and an explicit rejection of maritime borders which they had until then tacitly respected. Patrols through Kinmen’s restricted waters have since become more consistent, in what some analysts say is China’s strategy of shrinking Taiwan’s territorial space and normalising incursions.
The coast guard also appeared to be involved in drills on Thursday, with the Fujian branch announcing it was running law enforcement drills in the same areas.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said on Thursday his government would contact Beijing to “directly and clearly” communicate to Beijing the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Japan has a strong relationship with Taiwan and is a close ally of the US. It has grown more vocal in its concerns about China’s actions in the Taiwan Strait, in part because of Japanese territory that is close to Taiwan. During the Pelosi drills, Tokyo lodged strong complaints with Beijing over the firing of PLA missiles across the island of Taiwan and into Japan’s exclusive economic zone.