Taiwan yesterday condemned the Chinese People Liberation Army’s (PLA) drills around Taiwan, saying they constituted a serious provocation, while urging Beijing to end them.
China yesterday launched sea and air drills around Taiwan as a “stern warning” for what it called collusion between “separatists and foreign forces,” the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said, a day after Vice President William Lai (賴清德) returned from a visit to Paraguay that included stopovers in the US.
The exercises involved the coordination of vessels and planes, and their ability to seize control of air and sea spaces, PLA Eastern Theater Command spokesman Shi Yi (施毅) said in a brief statement.
Photo: Taipei Times
The drills in the waters and airspace to the north and southwest of Taiwan were “a warning over provocations from pro-Taiwan independence forces and foreign forces,” he added.
The command released footage of the drills online that showed soldiers running, as well as military boats and planes.
State-owned China Central Television reported that fighter jets and boats equipped with missiles were involved in the operation, and that units worked together to simulate surrounding Taiwan.
Photo: Reuters
In Taipei, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said that China’s saber-rattling was unjustified, as Taiwanese presidents and vice presidents have long visited other countries.
Beijing’s attempt to sow fear ahead of the presidential and legislative elections in January next year was a provocative act directed against the security of the region, which the Presidential Office strongly condemned, she said.
China is urged to refrain from irresponsible actions that affect stability in the region and cause trouble for the international community, she said.
Taiwan’s military and national security team have a “complete grasp” of China’s military activities, she added.
The Ministry of National Defense in a separate statement condemned what it called “irrational, provocative moves” by China.
“The launch of the military exercise this time not only does not help peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but also highlights [China’s] militaristic mentality,” it said.
It said the military would stand ready in the face of threats posed by the PLA, adding that Taiwan’s forces have “the ability, determination and confidence to safeguard national security.”
The ministry said its forces detected 42 Chinese military aircraft from 9am yesterday, adding that 26 of them crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait.
Eight vessels also took part in the joint combat patrol, it said.
Taiwan deployed aircraft and vessels, activated land-based missile systems in response to the drills, and was closely monitoring the situation, the ministry said.
Over the past few years, voices in the international community have joined to oppose Beijing’s use of armed intimidation, which threatens peace across the Strait and regional stability, the Mainland Affairs Council said in a news release.
China’s bellicose behavior has done nothing other than prove once again that the Chinese Communist Party “is the trouble-maker” in the region, while triggering “revulsion” among other nations, it said.
The Republic of China is a sovereign nation and has every right under international law to conduct normal diplomatic interactions with other states, the council said, adding that Taiwan would not bow to intimidation or coercion, as its will to defend itself is unshakable.
China’s provocative use of military aircraft and warships to pressure Taiwan into accepting a political framework unilaterally conceived by Beijing is doomed to failure, it said.
Separately, a source familiar with national security issues said that the government has obtained clear intelligence with regard to the nature and purpose of the latest PLA military exercises.
The main aim of the drills — which builds on the basis for the PLA Eastern Theater Command’s routine exercises — is to influence next year’s general elections in Taiwan with the threat of war, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The drills were conveniently timed to avoid the summit attended by the leaders of Japan, South Korea and the US at Camp David on Friday, and were not given a threatening name such as “joint sword,” suggesting that Beijing fears incurring the wrath of the international community, the source said.
The PLA is expected to ramp up its saber-rattling ahead of the elections in January by sending more ships and airplanes to areas surrounding Taiwan, including sorties that approach or cross the Strait’s median line, they said.
Chinese information warfare units would step up disinformation and election interference campaigns, mainly focusing on spreading fear of war, the source said.
Beijing’s choice to double down on forcefully confronting the international community when China’s domestic growth is struggling, its youth unemployment is exploding and amid disastrous flooding suggests a deep dysfunction in the regime’s ability to perceive and react to reality, they said.
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