Communist China launched a large-scale military exercise around Taiwan on Thursday, saying it is a “powerful punishment” for Taiwan’s “separatist acts.” The drills come just two days after Taiwan swore in its new president Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has labeled a “dangerous separatist.”
China’s military drills involve fighter jets with live ammunition, destroyers, frigates, and missile speedboats, according to a Chinese state broadcasting network, CNN reported. The fighter jets reportedly carried out mock strikes against “high-value military targets.” China said the military drills will continue for two days.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry called China’s aggression “irrational provocations and actions that undermine regional peace and stability.” Taiwan is a self-governing island that the Chinese Communist Party claims is part of its territory while continuing to threaten a takeover of the nation home to over 23 million people. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it responded to China’s hostility by dispatching air, sea, and ground forces, according to CNN.
“We stand by with firm will and restraint. We seek no conflicts, but we will not shy away from one. We have the confidence to safeguard our national security,” the Taiwan Defense Ministry statement added.
Per reports, Taiwan’s Coast Guard also faced off with a Chinese Navy ship and ordered it to change course.
WATCH: #Taiwan‘s Coast Guard warned a #Chinese Navy ship 548 (Type 054A frigate) to change course when it was 24 miles northwest of Pengjia Islet. pic.twitter.com/be9La7zoGF
— Indo-Pacific News – Geo-Politics & Defense (@IndoPac_Info) May 23, 2024
President Lai was elected in January and inaugurated on Monday. Lai, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, has been an advocate for Taiwan’s independence and says that “Taiwan is already a sovereign, independent country called the Republic of China.”
The tensions between the CCP and Taiwan also concern U.S. leaders as over 100 American troops are stationed on the island, providing training for Taiwanese soldiers. While official U.S. policy doesn’t require the U.S. to come to Taiwan’s aid if a war breaks out, the Taiwan Relations Act requires the U.S. to “provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character.”
Congress recently passed a massive aid package that included upgrading some of Taiwan’s military equipment and spending billions of dollars on countering China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific region, the Associated Press reported.
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China’s aggression toward Taiwan has intensified under President Joe Biden’s watch as Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping told Biden late last year that China is going to take control of Taiwan. While the president has suggested that the U.S. would help defend Taiwan if China invades, he said in January that his administration stands by the decades of U.S. policy that doesn’t recognize Taiwanese independence.