is already blockading Taiwan with an unprecedented deployment of planes and ships

Lai’s speech was condemned by Beijing after he said China had no right to represent Taiwan, even though it had offered to cooperate with Beijing, which considers Taiwan to be part of its own territory. Lai and his government maintain that only the Taiwanese people can decide their future..

Shortly after announcing the end of the exercises, China’s Defense Ministry issued a warning that the exercises were not a repeat of the previous “Joint Sword-2024A” war exercises held in May, but rather an increase in pressure against Taiwan independence, and that other measures could follow.

“The People’s Liberation Army’s actions will intensify with every provocation for Taiwan independence until the Taiwan question is completely resolved,” the ministry added in a statement. “It is a legitimate and necessary operation to safeguard the sovereignty of the State and national unity”.

The command has not announced dates for future large-scale exercises. It previously released a map highlighting nine areas around Taiwan where the exercises took place: two on the island’s east coast, three on the west coast, one in the north and three around Taiwan-controlled islands, just off the coast of China.

air assault

Formations of Chinese warships, destroyers and aircraft were approaching Taiwan “nearby and from different directions”, focusing on air-sea combat readiness patrols, blockading ports and key areas and attacking maritime and land targets, the command added.

China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning and its support ships were also involved east of Taiwan, the military said. However, no live fire exercises or no-fly zones were announced, and Taiwanese security source says there is no sign of missile launch.

Chinese state media reported that the rocket force carried out simulated missile launches while fighter jets “opened air assault corridors” and bombers flew long-range missions.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry added that the exercises involved 17 warships and 125 Chinese military aircraft, highest number of planes detected operating around Taiwan in a single day. However, Monday’s exercises appeared less intense than the actions in 2022, when China fired missiles at the island shortly after the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosiwill travel to Taiwan.

Colin Koha Singapore-based security analyst, said the coast guard’s broad actions around Taiwan appeared to be a new front in China’s ongoing “gray zone” operations against Taipei, even as the broader exercises were apparently limited to avoid too much inflaming the American electoral campaign.

“I suspect that the current economic situation does not warrant further escalation leading to more uncertainty across the Strait,” said Koh, of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

Raids

China held the two-day “Joint Sword-2024A” exercises around Taiwan in May, shortly after Lai took office, saying it was “punishment” for separatist content in his speech investiture.

A senior Taiwanese security official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said he believed China was practicing blockading Taiwanese ports and shipping routes international forces, as well as to repel the arrival of foreign forces.

In a significant move on Monday, Chinese coast guard ships surrounded Taiwan and conducted patrols near Taiwan’s coastal islands of Matsu and Dongyin, entering the “restricted waters” of Matsu Island for the first time to “cross » the borders established by the Taiwanese authorities. , according to public television channel CCTV. This media adds that China “may in the future carry out regular law enforcement patrols around Matsu.”.

President Lai condemned the exercises, saying they “aimed to undermine regional peace and stability and continue to coerce neighboring countries by force.” Officials said Lai’s National Security Council met to discuss the situation. In a propaganda video, the Eastern Theater Command showed a caricature of Lai with pointy ears like a demon and fighter jets and warships surrounding the island.

Security analysts are closely monitoring Chinese operations, given the increased development of its missile capabilities and efforts by the United States and its allies to improve their defenses against those missiles.

“Blatant provocations”

The Chinese Affairs Council, in charge of Taiwan’s policy toward Beijing, called the latest military exercises “blatant provocations” that seriously undermine regional peace and stability.

Taiwan’s presidential office said in a statement that China should recognize the existence of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name, and respect the decision of the Taiwanese people to choose a free and democratic way of life. In Washington, Biden administration officials said they were monitoring the exercises and there was no justification for them after Lai’s “routine” speech.

“We call on the People’s Republic of China to exercise restraint and avoid further action that could jeopardize peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the broader region,” the Department of Defense spokesperson said. ‘State. Matthew Miller.

Another senior Taiwanese security official told Reuters that the exercises so far were not of a particularly alarming scale, but that Beijing was waging a “hybrid war” that included propaganda campaigns, economic coercion, sanctions against certain Taiwanese individuals and fake news operations.

On Monday, Beijing sanctioned a prominent Taiwanese tech tycoon, Robert Tsao, and a lawmaker for separatist activities. Taiwan’s stock market shrugged off the tensions, however, with the benchmark .TWII index up 0.3 percent, and there were no signs of public concern.