Taiwan: China’s drills a diversionary tactic
China’s year-end military drills around Taiwan aimed to divert public dissatisfaction over a domestic economic downturn and counter international support for the self-ruled island, the territory’s top security agency said on Thursday.
The National Security Bureau said in a report to parliament that through the “Justice Mission 2025” drills conducted last week, the ruling Communist Party was able to channel public dissatisfaction over domestic economic setbacks into “nationalist sentiment.”
The three-day drills through New Year’s Eve near Taiwan were staged as a “stern warning” to separatists seeking the island’s independence and external interference, according to the Chinese military.
Political intent
The report said a decline in foreign direct investment in the mainland, high youth unemployment, and rising labor protests over unpaid wages have “heightened risks to social governance.”
The bureau also said the large-scale exercises carried “a clear political intent” to counter pro-Taiwan democratic allies, citing an $11.1-billion proposed US arms package to Taiwan announced in December and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s November remarks on a Taiwan emergency as key motivations.
The mainland, which views the territory as a renegade province to be reunified with it by force if necessary, has been infuriated by the Japanese premier’s comments suggesting Tokyo would act in the event of coercive measures against Taiwan.
The security agency also said the drills served to show both domestically and internationally that the Chinese military’s combat capability has been unaffected by anticorruption campaigns, following a major purge last year.
In October, China announced the expulsion of nine senior military officers, including He Weidong, who held the No. 2 post in the top national defense body led by President Xi Jinping, for “serious violations” of Communist Party discipline and the law.
During the drills, the mainland fired a total of 27 rockets, with over 200 warplanes flying near the island, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry.
