Fired China Today, Monday, military exercises with aircraft and ships around Taiwan Which confirmed that it had deployed “appropriate forces” to respond.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense announced that the maneuvers – called “Joint Sword 2024B” – aim to “test the joint operational capabilities” of the forces, and to issue a warning against “the separatist actions of the Taiwan independence forces,” without specifying a date for the end of these maneuvers.
The spokesman for the Chinese Army's Eastern Command, Captain Li Shi, said that the operations are being conducted “in areas in the north, south and east of Taiwan Island.”
He stressed that the maneuvers focus on patrols preparing for sea and air combat, blockading ports and main areas, and attacking naval and land targets.
The Chinese Coast Guard announced that it had deployed 4 fleets to conduct “inspections” in the waters surrounding Taiwan, and “enforce the law in the waters surrounding the island of Taiwan (…) in accordance with the law based on the one-China principle,” according to which Taiwan is considered part of Chinese territory.
The public channel CCTV reported that “fighters, bombers” and other warplanes, in addition to “a number of destroyers” were deployed in the Taiwan Strait, in addition to areas located to the north, southwest and east of the island.
China did not announce any live fire exercises during the maneuvers or any no-fly zones.
Taiwan and Washington
In a statement, Taiwan's Defense Ministry condemned China's “irrational and provocative behavior” and said it “deployed appropriate forces to respond appropriately, protect freedom and democracy, and defend Taiwan's sovereignty.”
China considers Taiwan part of its territory, and has pledged to restore it by force if necessary.
The Taiwanese president called Lai Ching T – which Beijing describes as “separatist” – called for a “high-level” security meeting in response to Chinese military maneuvers.
Taiwan has been on alert for more war games since Lai Ching-te's speech on National Day last week, a speech that was denounced by Beijing after Lai said China had no right to represent Taiwan, even though he offered to cooperate with Beijing.
Secretary-General of Taiwan's National Security Council, Joseph Wu, said that the Chinese maneuvers “contrary to international law and regulations and require a warning.”
For its part, the United States condemned the Chinese maneuvers around Taiwan, describing them as “unjustified” and increasing the risk of escalation.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement, “The United States is deeply concerned about the joint military exercises of the (Chinese) People’s Liberation Army in Taiwan Strait And about Taiwan.
Miller added that the Chinese army's response “through military provocations to (the Taiwanese president's) regular annual speech is unjustified and carries the risk of escalation.”
It is noteworthy that the island of Taiwan – which China considers an integral part of its territory and pledges to regain – is located at the heart of Sino-American tensions, in light of the United States being the main supplier of Taiwanese weapons.
China considers Taiwan one of its provinces that has not yet been able to reunite with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
China says it prefers to restore unification in a “peaceful” way with the island, whose population of about 23 million is governed by a democratic regime, but it does not rule out resorting to military force to do so if necessary.
Taiwan objects to China's plans and refuses to accept Beijing's sovereignty, and is modernizing its army with new equipment such as submarines and adopting an “asymmetric warfare” method, to make its forces more mobile and less vulnerable.