China’s live-fire drills held in waters around Niushan Island near Taiwan's Lienchiang County today were part of an annual routine military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said.
China might be using the exercise to exert deterrence in the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said, adding that it monitored the situation closely and was analyzing China’s military activities and its intentions.
Photo: Reuters
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said the military is prepared for all kinds of situation and would not let any accidents happen.
“It is our duty to safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty and our people’s safety,” he said, adding that the exercise is threatening to regional peace and stability, and it is meaningless and unnecessary to frequently create tension in the Taiwan Strait.
China’s military exercise is intended to undermine Taiwan’s morale with information warfare, said Chen Kuan-hsien (陳冠憲), a researcher at the Taiwan National Security Association.
The drill is a political response to the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee recently set up by the Presidential Office, as Taiwan’s civil defense is also considered to be pro-independence by China, Chen said.
Some Taiwanese “feel nothing” when China holds military exercises, he said.
The intention of China’s information warfare, such as “expressing love” by saying that it is surrounding Taiwan with a “heart shape,” is to strengthen the impression that “it is no big deal” to hold military drills near Taiwan, he added.
China is progressing its strategy toward Taiwan with a series of activities in a short period of time, Chen said.
The aim is to test reactions from Taiwan and the international community, as modern warfare includes not only traditional hot war, but also diplomacy, communications, economy and technology, he said.
It is best for Taiwan to demonstrate its determination to defend itself, and it is important to bolster civil defense by educating the public on military science, national identity and international situation so as to enhance information literacy, he added.
A maritime safety advisory was issued yesterday by the Maritime Safety Administration in Pingtan in China's Fujian Province, warning vessels to avoid the waters around the Chinese island from 9am to 1pm today, according to several Chinese media outlets.
Niushan is about 80km south of Lienchiang County (Matsu) off Fujian Province and about 165km from Taipei.
The lighthouse on the island is an important landmark that helps vessels navigate the Taiwan Strait, and the island is near a currently suspended ferry route connecting Pingtan and Taipei.
The live-fire exercises around Niushan followed the "Joint Sword-2024B" military drills conducted around Taiwan and its offshore islands on Monday last week, during which China's Coast Guard also took part.
Additional reporting by Fang Wei-li
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