China’s military conducted large-scale drills Monday around Taiwan in “a stern warning” to those seeking the island’s independence, after the territory’s President Lai Ching-te reiterated last week that the two sides are not subordinate to each other.
The exercise in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island involves the Chinese army, navy, air and rocket forces, and focuses on sea-air combat-readiness patrols, blockades of key ports and areas, and assaults on maritime and ground targets, the military said.
The Eastern Theater Command, which covers the strait, said the exercise from Monday is “a legitimate and necessary operation for safeguarding state sovereignty and national unity.”
Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command posts a map of military exercises conducted around Taiwan on its official account on social media platform WeChat on Oct. 14, 2024.
The Chinese move was immediately condemned by Taipei, with the Presidential Office urging Beijing to refrain from further military provocations, saying China and Taiwan have a “common responsibility” to maintain regional peace and stability.
Lai had convened a high-level national security meeting and instructed relevant units to respond to the drills, the office said.
It is unclear when the exercise will end. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry condemned the drills as “irrational and provocative behavior” and said it had dispatched “appropriate troops” to protect the island’s “freedom, democracy and sovereignty.”
The China Coast Guard also said four of its formations carried out patrols in waters around Taiwan on Monday, describing them as “a practical action to manage and control the Taiwan Island according to the one-China principle.”
The island’s Mainland Affairs Council vowed that Taipei will “never retreat or succumb” in the face of political, military, economic and other threats from the Chinese Communist Party.
China last conducted a large-scale military exercise surrounding Taiwan after Lai, whom Beijing condemns as a separatist, took office in May. China views the self-ruled island as a renegade province to be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
The United States said it is “seriously concerned” by the Chinese drills, adding to respond to an annual speech with “military provocations” is “unwarranted and risks escalation.”
Washington continues to monitor Chinese activities around the strait and “coordinate with allies and partners regarding our shared concerns,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
On Thursday, Lai said he remains resolved “to resist annexation or encroachment” of Taiwan’s contested status as a sovereign entity, in a speech marking the island’s National Day.
He also said China “has no right to represent Taiwan,” while seeking dialogue and exchanges with the mainland to “maintain the status quo” of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Communist-ruled China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split as the result of a civil war in 1949.
BY: The Times Union / KYODO
