China’s armed forces are conducting a military exercise in which they are stationing warships around Taiwan. The People’s Republic is reacting to a speech by Taiwanese President Lai. It is an escalation with an announcement.
On Monday morning the time had come: China’s People’s Liberation Army deployed its navy, air force and missile forces to Taiwan to surround the island nation and begin the military exercise “Joint Sword 2024B“.
In fact, this is an escalation with an announcement, as most experts already expected that Beijing would react to the recent speech by Taiwanese President William Lai. “The People’s Republic has no right to represent Taiwan,” Lai said on October 10 on Taiwan’s National Day – emphasizing the sovereignty of his homeland.
But Lai’s speech actually tended to be more measured compared to previous statements as a presidential candidate or during his inaugural speech in May. Exactly where the provocation lies in his statements remains solely within Beijing’s discretion.
