The military simulated “joint precision strikes” once morest “key targets on the island of Taiwan and in the surrounding waters,” CCTV reported. Taiwan’s defense ministry spotted nine warships and 58 military aircraft around the island on Sunday. The United States had previously called on Beijing to exercise restraint.
Chinese broadcaster CCTV reported that Beijing used dozens of army planes to “fly into the targeted airspace” on the second day of the three-day military maneuvers. Ground troops also carried out exercises with “precision strikes with multiple targets”.
Fighter jets and bombers in action
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the Chinese military planes spotted around the island as of 12:00 p.m. local time (6:00 a.m. CEST) are both fighter jets and bombers. Chinese military movements would be monitored by a joint surveillance and reconnaissance system.
A spokesman for the US State Department had previously said in light of the maneuvers that Washington is closely monitoring China’s actions. “We have always called for restraint and not to change the status quo,” he added. The communication channels with Beijing remained open. At the same time, the ministry spokesman emphasized that the US “has sufficient resources and capabilities in the region to ensure peace and stability and to fulfill our national security obligations”.
Europe as the third pole?
According to French President Emmanuel Macron, Europe should pursue its own strategy in the case of Taiwan. “The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans would become followers on this issue and either have to follow the American style or a Chinese overreaction,” Politico magazine quoted him as saying. Europe should not contribute to the escalation of the conflict but pursue its own position as the third pole between the US and China, Macron said in an interview with Politico and French newspaper Les Echos during his three-day visit to China this week. China regards the democratically governed Taiwan as its territory.
The US has been helping Taiwan build up its defense capabilities for decades, but has not explicitly committed to providing military assistance to the island in the event of an attack. The United States, on the other hand, has signed a defense pact with other countries in the region, including Japan.
Military exercise as a “warning”
Taipei is under increasing pressure from Beijing. Since the split between China and Taiwan in 1949, Beijing has viewed the island as a breakaway territory that it wants to reunite with the mainland – if necessary using military force.
China’s army described the three-day military exercise near Taiwan as a “warning” to “separatist forces”. According to Chinese state media, the encirclement of Taiwan will also be practiced. Taipei condemned the maneuver and accused Beijing of endangering regional security.
“Taiwan is not their only destination”
Archyde.com, citing an insider, reported that China’s military had also simulated air and sea attacks on “foreign military targets”. “Taiwan is not their only target,” said the insider, who is familiar with the security situation in the region. “It’s very provocative.” He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The attacks on foreign targets were held in the waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast. In addition, there are regarding twenty warships facing each other on the center line in the Taiwan Strait – half from China and half from Taiwan, the insider said. But they didn’t behave in a provocative manner. The middle line has been considered the unofficial border between China and Taiwan for years. China’s aircraft carrier “Shandong”, which Taiwan has been monitoring since last week, is more than 400 nautical miles off the southeast coast of Taiwan and is holding exercises.
“Authoritarian Expansionism”
Zhao Xiaozhuo of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences told China’s state-backed Global Times newspaper that it was the first time China had spoken openly regarding simulated attacks on targets in Taiwan. The most important thing is the infrastructure. Zhao cited runways, military logistics facilities and mobile targets as examples in the report. The military is concentrating on these “in order to destroy them in one fell swoop if necessary”.
The exercise comes days following Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited the United States, who met Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy in California on Wednesday. Tsai accused Beijing of “authoritarian expansionism” on Saturday. She clarified that Taiwan “will continue to work with the United States and other countries (…) to defend the values of freedom and democracy.”
