Beijing. This Thursday, China began two days of military exercises “around the island of Taiwan” as “strong punishment” for “separatist acts” in this territory after the inauguration of a new president detested by Beijing.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it had detected 49 Chinese aircraft as part of the Beijing maneuvers.
READ MORE: China takes Taiwan president’s speech as ‘confession of independence’
“Since 7:20 am,” the ministry “detected 49 Chinese planes (…) of which 35 crossed the median line,” he stated, referring to the line that divides the Taiwan Strait, located between the island and Mainland China.
Considered by communist authorities as a “dangerous separatist,” Lai Ching-te was sworn in as president on Monday with a speech in which he celebrated Taiwan’s democracy and urged China to “cease its political and military intimidation.”
China, which claims sovereignty over the separately governed island since 1949 and has never ruled out the use of force to take control of it, denounced his words as a “confession of independence.”
The maneuvers began early Thursday with the deployment of military aircraft and ships “around the island of Taiwan” to test their combat capabilities, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced.
These maneuvers are a “serious warning” addressed to the “independence supporters” of the island, who will end up “bloodied,” said a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Wang Wenbin.
Taiwanese authorities responded immediately and mobilized their sea, air and land forces.
“We will continue to defend the values of freedom and democracy,” said President Lai. “I will remain on the front lines with our brothers and sisters in the military to defend national security together,” he added.
In coordination with the military, the Taiwan Coast Guard deployed its fleet to “monitor movements in the surrounding maritime waters” and defend “the country’s sovereignty and security with a firm attitude.”
Taiwan deployed four fighter jets from the Hsinchu base, about 60 km southwest of Taipei.
In images released by the Taiwanese Coast Guard on social networks, officers appear urging the Chinese ships, through a loudspeaker, to leave the site.
“Your movements affect the order and security of our country, turn around and leave our waters as soon as possible,” says one of them.
China believes that Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, sent a separatist message in his inauguration day speech. In the image, Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: AFP (LEAH MILLIS/AFP)
“Strong punishment”
The exercises “take place in the Taiwan Strait, to the north, south and east of the island of Taiwan,” reported the official Chinese press agency Xinhua.
According to Colonel Li Xi, army spokesman, the exercises represent “strong punishment for the separatist acts of the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and a serious warning against interference and provocation by external forces.” With them, “joint real combat capabilities will be put to the test,” he said.
For his part, professor at the National Defense University in Beijing, Zhang Chi, commented on state television CCTV that the exercises seek to “impose an economic blockade on the island,” “strangling” the port of Kaohsiung, which is of interest. strategic for Taiwan.
With this blockade, “vital energy imports for Taiwan” can be cut off and “blocked the support that some US allies provide to the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces,” according to the academic.
The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, urged all parties to “refrain from any action that could lead to an escalation of tensions in the region,” according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, announced this Thursday.
For its part, the United States made a “firm call to Beijing to act with restraint,” according to a senior US official.
The military exercises conducted by China “are reckless, increase the risks of escalation and challenge norms that have maintained regional peace and stability for decades,” he added.
“Irrational provocations”
Relations between Beijing and Taipei have deteriorated significantly since the rise to power of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016, who, like her successor Lai, is a staunch defender of the island’s democratic model.
Beijing increased military, diplomatic and economic pressure on this island of 23 million inhabitants that, although it barely enjoys international recognition, has a government, an army and its own currency.
“China clearly feels it needs to send a very strong message to Lai and anyone who supports him,” analyst Bill Bishop wrote in his influential Sinocism newsletter.
“We were expecting something like this, honestly,” acknowledged the deputy commander of the US army in the region, Lieutenant General Stephen Sklenka, at an event in Canberra. “It’s worrying,” he added.
In August, China launched military exercises in response to then-Vice President Lai’s stop in the United States amid a trip to Paraguay.
Months earlier, in April, Chinese armed forces pretended to surround the island after Tsai met in California with then-U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
In 2022, China held massive military exercises in the area after McCarthy’s predecessor Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
Events in this area can have important economic consequences, since 70% of the world’s semiconductor production comes from Taiwan and more than 50% of freight containers cross the strait that separates this island from mainland China.
