China Wraps Up Military Drills Around Taiwan

Date: 25 May 2024 - 22:12

News ID: ۱۲۷۶۷۴

BEIJING (Dispatches) – China has ended two days of military drills around Taiwan that saw jets loaded with live munitions and warships practice seizing and isolating the self-ruled island.
The exercises simulated strikes targeting Taiwan’s leaders as well as its ports and airports to “cut off the island’s ‘blood vessels’”, Chinese military analysts told state media.
Beijing considers the island part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring it under its control.
The war games kicked off Thursday morning, as aircraft and naval vessels surrounded Taiwan to conduct mock attacks against “important targets”, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Codenamed “Joint Sword-2024A”, the exercises were launched three days after Taiwan’s new President Lai Ching-te took office and made an inauguration speech that China denounced as a “confession of independence”.
Beijing’s defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said that Lai was pushing Taiwan “into a perilous situation of war and danger”.
“Every time ‘Taiwan independence’ provokes us, we will push our countermeasures one step further, until the complete reunification of the motherland is achieved,” he said.
On Friday 46 Chinese military planes crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line, which previously served as an unofficial barrier between the two sides, Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Saturday. It said it had detected a total of 62 Chinese aircraft and 27 navy ships.
A presenter for CCTV-7, China’s state-run military news channel, said late Friday that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “successfully completed” the “Joint Sword-2024A” drills.
Beijing views Taiwan as its own territory and does not rule out using force to return the territory under its control. It sees the new Taiwanese president as a “separatist” and “troublemaker”.
The People’s Liberation Army Daily commentary, published as “the voice of the military”, said Lai was determined to act as a “pawn” for external forces to curb China’s development.
“If Taiwan independence separatist forces insist on going their own way or even take risks, the PLA will obey orders and take decisive action to resolutely smash all separatist plots,” it said.
The U.S. gives the island financial and military aid in an effort to decrease Beijing’s regional clout.