China launches military drills around Taiwan in new ‘warning’
BEIJING/TAIPEI—China began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan on Tuesday as a “stern warning” against separatism.
The exercises around the democratically governed island, which China views as its own territory, come a month after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called Beijing a “foreign hostile force.”
They also commence after US defense Sec. Pete Hegseth left the region following visits to Japan and the Philippines, where he criticized China and said Japan was “indispensable” for tackling Chinese aggression.
“The focus is on exercises such as combat readiness patrols at sea and in the air, seizing comprehensive control, striking maritime and land targets, and imposing blockade controls on key areas and routes,” the Eastern Theatre Command of China’s Peoples Liberation Army said in a statement.
In a video accompanying the command’s statement, Lai, which Beijing calls a “separatist,” was depicted in a cartoon as a bug held by a pair of chopsticks above a burning Taiwan, calling him in English a “parasite.”
‘Troublemaker’
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
The Taiwanese government condemned the drills, with the presidential office saying that China was “widely recognized by the international community as a troublemaker.” It expressed confidence in the ability of its forces to defend the island.
Two senior Taiwan officials told Reuters that more than 10 Chinese military ships, including the Shandong aircraft carrier, had approached Taiwan’s 44-km contiguous zone.
Taipei responded by dispatching military aircraft and ships and activated land-based missile systems.
Taiwan said that it had not detected any live fire by the Chinese military, one official said.
A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters, citing internal assessments, that Beijing needed to avoid any “perceived confrontation” with Washington prior to the US-China trade talks, and thus Taiwan has become a pretext.
“Taiwan is their best excuse. That’s why they chose to launch such military drills as soon as the US defense secretary left Asia,” the official said.
The de facto US embassy, the American Institute in Taiwan, said the United States would continue to support the island.
Propaganda
“Once again, China has shown that it is not a responsible actor and has no problem putting the region’s security and prosperity at risk,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
China’s military released a series of propaganda videos in quick succession after the drill announcement, depicting Chinese warships and fighter jets encircling Taiwan, Taipei being aimed at from above, and military vehicles patrolling city streets.
A video of a poster accompanying the drills titled “Closing In,” and showing Chinese forces surrounding the island, was released on the Eastern Theatre Command’s Weibo.
This was followed by a video titled “Shell,” depicting president Lai as a green cartoon bug spawning parasites across the island, on the Eastern Theatre Command’s WeChat page.
“Parasite poisoning Taiwan island. Parasite hollowing Island out. Parasite courting ultimate destruction,” the animation said.
Taiwan defense minister Wellington Koo said such rhetoric was not conducive to peace and “shows their provocative character.”
