China begins military exercises near Taiwan

Days after the island’s vice president visited the United States, the Chinese military began conducting exercises surrounding Taiwan as a “stern warning” against what it dubbed cooperation between “separatists and foreign forces,” according to the defense ministry.

In order to strengthen ties with his government’s last South American diplomatic partner, Paraguay, Taiwanese Vice President William Lai recently traveled there, stopping in San Francisco and New York City along the way. The governing Communist Party on the mainland asserts that democratic Taiwan is a part of its territory and that it has no authority to manage international ties.

A short statement from a representative for China’s Eastern Theater Command said that the military drills tested the capabilities of ships and aircraft to coordinate and take control of air and seaspace.

Shi Yi said that it was also a test of the army’ “actual combat capabilities.” He noted that the exercises served as a warning against potential provocations from both domestic and international actors.

The “irrational, provocative moves” were sharply criticised by Taiwan’s military minister in a statement. In response to the exercises, it promised to send out the proper troops and take steps to “safeguard freedom and democracy.”

It said that its soldiers had “the ability, determination, and confidence to safeguard national security” and that they will be ready to respond to any threats from the Chinese army.

After a civil war that left the mainland under the power of the governing Communist Party, Taiwan and China divided in 1949. Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China, but Beijing views it as a province that broke away and should, if necessary, be retaken by force.

An anonymous official in China’s Taiwan Work Office was quoted as severely condemning what it termed additional cooperation between Taiwan’s governing Democratic Progressive Party and the United States on Saturday by the country’s official news agency, Xinhua. and declared it a “new provocative move.”

The official cited Lai’s stops in the United States, an interview he gave to the news organization Bloomberg, and his meeting with American officials in Paraguay, according to the article. The representative said Lai had spoken in favor of “Taiwan independence” during the interview.

The official also called Lai a “troublemaker who will push Taiwan to the dangerous brink of war” and charged him of selling out Taiwan’s interests in order to gain advantage in the island’s election.

Lai is the nominee for his party in the January 2024 presidential election.