China simulated strikes against “key targets” in Taiwan on Sunday, the second day of a “total encirclement” exercise scheduled until Monday and presented by Beijing as a “serious warning” to the authorities of the island after the meeting of its president with a senior American official.
Called “Joint Sword”, the operation was strongly denounced by Taiwan and the United States called on Beijing to “restraint”, ensuring that it kept its channels of communication with China “open”.
These maneuvers were launched after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met on Wednesday in California with Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, to which Beijing had promised to react with “firm and energetic” measures. They aim to establish Chinese capabilities to “take control of the sea, airspace and information (…) in order to create deterrence and total encirclement” of Taiwan, state television said on Saturday. Chinese.
A veritable armada
On Sunday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry detected nine Chinese warships and 58 aircraft around the island, after spotting as many boats and 71 aircraft the day before. He claimed to track the movements of the Chinese military through a “joint intelligence and reconnaissance system”, adding that fighter jets and bombers were among the flying devices detected until noon local time.
Also on Sunday, the Chinese military simulated “precision strikes” against “key targets on the island of Taiwan and surrounding waters”, involving dozens of aircraft and ground troops, according to Chinese television. ‘State. Destroyers, fast missile launchers, fighter planes, tankers and jammers are notably mobilized according to Beijing, during these maneuvers which must last until Monday.
China regards Taiwan (23 million people) as a province it has yet to successfully reunite with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The maneuvers “serve as serious warnings against collusion between separatist forces seeking Taiwanese independence and outside forces, as well as their provocative activities,” warned Chinese military spokesman Shi Yi.
Washington reiterated its call on Saturday to “not change the status quo”. “We are confident that we have sufficient resources and capabilities in the region to ensure peace and stability,” the State Department said.
“Score points”
Live-fire exercises will be held Monday in the Taiwan Strait near the coast of Fujian (east), the province facing the island, local Chinese maritime authorities also said. These exercises, which have an “operational” dimension, are intended to demonstrate that the Chinese army will be ready, “if the provocations intensify”, to “settle once and for all the question of Taiwan”, indicated to the AFP military expert Song Zhongping.
Tsai Ing-wen denounced China’s “authoritarian expansionism” on Saturday and assured that Taiwan “will continue to work with the United States and other countries (…) to defend the values of freedom and democracy”. China views with displeasure the rapprochement in recent years between the Taiwanese authorities and the United States which, despite the absence of official relations, provides the island with substantial military support.
For Beijing, these military exercises are “a necessity” to “score points politically” with the Chinese population, told AFP James Char, expert on the Chinese army at Nanyang University of Technology in Singapore. However, an escalation of the same intensity as that of August 2022 seems a priori ruled out, according to James Char. Beijing is trying to “warm up” its relations with Europe and waited for the end of a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to launch its exercises, he notes.
Last summer, China engaged in unprecedented military maneuvers around Taiwan and fired missiles in response to a visit to the island by Democrat Nancy Pelosi, then the House roost of Kevin McCarthy.
The United States recognized the People’s Republic of China in 1979 and should in theory have no official contact with the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the “one China principle” defended by Beijing.
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