More than 100,000 international travelers were set to be affected as China on Monday (local time) conducted large-scale military drills around the island of Taiwan as a show of strength and warning to “external interference” forces. Beijing has termed this move a “stern warning” against separatist and foreign forces that do not recognize its control over the small island nation.
Taiwan has now termed the Chinese government as the “biggest destroyer of peace”, as per a report by the Associated PressTaipei has revealed that the number of international travelers set to be affected by the large-scale Chinese military drills will cross 100,000,
US and Japan: China sees them as external threats
The two “external” forces whose intervention in the China-Taiwan fiasco Beijing is not taking kindly to are the United States and Japan.
Beijing is unhappy with the US arms sales to Taiwan. Only last week, it had sanctioned 20 US companies and 10 executives related to defense after Washington announced a $10-billion arms sale package to Taipei. If the US Congress greenlights this sale, it will be the largest-ever US weapons package to the self-ruled island.
On the other hand, Sanae Takaichi, the prime minister of Japan, said that its military can get involved if China takes any action against Taiwan.
China, however, avoided mentioning either the US or Japan in its statement on Monday morning.
How Taiwan responded to the Chinese action
The Defense Ministry of Taiwan issued a statement on X on Monday morning, in which it said that rapid response exercises were underway in the wake of the Chinese military drills. In another statement, Taiwan revealed that appropriate forces were deployed, and they were conducting drills for combat readiness.
“The Chinese Communist Party’s targeted military exercises further confirm its nature as an aggressor and the biggest destroyer of peace,” the ministry said, as per AP,
“Conducting live-fire exercises around the Taiwan Strait … would not only constitute military pressure on us, but could also pose more complex challenges and impacts for the international community and neighboring countries,” Hsieh Jih-sheng, deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence at Taiwan’s defense ministry, told reporters, when asked about Tuesday’s drills, as per a reuters report.
“Our armed forces operate on the principle of preparing for the worst and must take every possible scenario into account,” Jih-sheng added.
In a show of resilience, the Defense Ministry of Taiwan released a video featuring its weapons and armed forces. Multiple French Mirage-2000 aircraft conducted landings at an air force base.
Details on the Chinese drills
As per the spokesperson of the People’s Liberation Army of China’s Eastern Theater Command, Senior Col. Shi Yi, the drills will be conducted in the Taiwan Strait as well as areas to the north, southeast, and southwest of the island.
The activities, as per Shi, will include combat readiness patrol in sea and air, “joint seizure of comprehensive superiority”, as well as blockades on key ports. This wil be the first large-scale drill where the command has announced that its goal will be “all-dimensional deterrence outside the island chain.”
“It is a stern warning against ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and external interference forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity,” Shi also said, as per AP,
China focuses on port cities
A number of propaganda posters were released by the Chinese military which includes a graphic that depicts four specific locations around Taiwan with targets locking on.
As per the state broadcaster of China, the military exercises will focus on sealing off the crucial deep-water port of Keelung in the north of Taiwan and Kaohsiung to its south. Kaohsiung is the largest port city of the island. In one poster, an armada of civilian ships can be seen, which China is mobilizing to carry out attacks on Taiwan. These vessels have ramps and open decks, thus suggesting that an amphibious assault cannot be ruled out.
