Key points
- China’s military says drills are a warning against Taiwan independence
- China’s military video calls Taiwan president a “parasite”
- Chinese warships approach close to contiguous zone: Taiwan
ISLAMABAD: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command started to conduct joint exercises on Tuesday, organising its army, navy, air and rocket forces to close in toward the Taiwan island from multiple directions.
According to Global Times, the PLA Eastern Theatre Command also released a short video titled “Subdue Demons and Vanquish Evils,” which compares the skills of the Chinese mythological character Sun Wukong in eliminating “evils” to the PLA’s powerful combat capabilities.
The exercises focused on sea-air combat-readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, assault on maritime and ground targets, and blockade on key areas and sea lanes so as to test joint operation capabilities of its troops.
Relations between the governments of China and Taiwan have ebbed and flowed over the decades.
Tensions exploded
According to AFP, tensions exploded in 1995 when China began test-firing missiles in the waters around Taiwan to protest against a visit by Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui to his alma mater in the United States.
But China has notably ramped up military manoeuvres since the 2016 election of former president Tsai Ing-wen, who considers the island “already independent”, including with warplane flights into Taiwan’s so-called Air Defence Identification Zone.
Taipei said in 2023 it had detected the long-range TB-001 Chinese combat drone and 37 other Chinese aircraft circling Taiwan.
Near-daily basis
That was the first time Taiwan’s defence ministry had reported a Chinese military aircraft circling the island from one end of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, which China does not recognise, to the other, local media said, the news agency reported.
Beijing now deploys planes and naval vessels around Taiwan on a near-daily basis.
China has also increasingly conducted major exercises around the island — usually in response to alleged provocations by Taipei.
Reuters news agency reported quoting Taiwanese sources that Chinese warships approached close to contiguous zone.
