Bloomberg — China began its largest military exercises in a year near Taiwan, increasing pressure on Lai Ching-te just days after he took office as the island’s new president.
Thursday’s drills were intended to “serve as strong punishment for the separatist acts of the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces.” and a stern warning against interference and provocation by external forces,” Chinese news agency Xinhua reported, citing a military spokesperson.
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The phrase “external forces” is probably a reference to the US, which is Taiwan’s main military backer. President Joe Biden has repeatedly said the US would defend the democracy of 23 million people if attacked, while China has pledged to bring Taiwan under its control at some point, by force if necessary.
Taiwan deployed sea, air and land forces in response to the exercises, according to a statement from the Defense Ministry in Taipei. He also condemned Beijing for provocations that undermine regional peace and stability. A ministry spokesman said in a later briefing that Taiwan’s military was at a normal level of combat readiness.
Chinese defense stocks rose, with Bestway Marine & Energy Technology Co. and Jiangxi Xinyu Guoke Tech Co. rising as much as 20%. In Taiwan, Lungteh Shipbuilding Co. gained as much as 5.6% and Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. rose 5.7%. The Taiwan dollar rose 0.1% to 32.25 against the greenback.
Lai took office on Monday on the island that makes most of the world’s most advanced chips. He said in his inaugural speech that China must abandon its threat of war and that neither side of the strait was subordinate to the other.
China has already expressed its displeasure with him, saying his speech “sent a dangerous signal of seeking independence.” He also condemned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for congratulating Lai, sanctioned a former US congressman who supported Taipei and hit US defense companies with symbolic sanctions.
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A CCTV commentary said on Thursday that Lai’s speech showed he is pursuing independence “more aggressively” than his predecessors, including Tsai Ing-wen and Chen Shui-bian.
China’s military drills increase complications for the new government in Taipei. Opposition lawmakers are pushing for changes to the law that aim to limit the president’s powers, which brought thousands of people to the streets on Tuesday night. Those demonstrations are likely to resume Friday, when the legislature takes next steps on the changes.
Chinese drills were taking place in the Taiwan Strait; north, south and east of Taiwan; and around the coastal islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin, Xinhua said. The exercises would last two days, he added.
The PLA released a map of the drills, marking five areas around the main island of Taiwan and surrounding four smaller islands off the Chinese coast. The Chinese coast guard announced exercises in the waters near Wuqiu and Dongyin islands on the same day.
China did not send navigation alerts for ships and planes as it did during the August 2022 drills, when Beijing blocked six areas at sea and fired missiles in response to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. .
Although it was not immediately clear how many ships and planes were involvedthe Chinese military had not held exercises in so many locations around Taiwan since April last year.
–With the collaboration of Betty Hou, Sangmi Cha, Yasufumi Saito, Miaojung Lin and Chien-Hua Wan.
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