BEIJING: China staged military drills off Taiwan's north, south and east coasts on Tuesday as a “stern warning” against separatism and called Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te a “parasite,“ as Taiwan sent warships to respond to China's navy approaching its shores.
The exercises, which China has not formally named unlike war games last year, are happening after a rise in Chinese rhetoric against Lai and follow on the heels of U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's Asia visit, during which he repeatedly criticised Beijing.
China’s military deployed ships, aircraft and artillery to practise blockading the island, strikes on ground and maritime targets, and air interception to “test forces’ coordination in combat,“ Beijing’s Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement.
This is not the first time China has either simulated an attack or put Taiwan under a lockdown.
Last May, three days after Lai's inauguration, Chinese forces staged war games to simulate seizing full control of areas west of the so-called first island chain and conducted live-fire missile exercises.
China considers democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and detests Lai as a “separatist.” In a video accompanying its drill announcement, the Eastern Theatre Command called him a “parasite” in English and depicted him as a green bug held by chopsticks over a burning Taiwan.
Taiwan's government condemned the drills, with the presidential office saying China was “widely recognised by the international community as a troublemaker” and that the government has the confidence and ability to defend itself.
Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future.
Two senior Taiwan officials told Reuters that more than 10 Chinese military ships had approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44 km) contiguous zone and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond.
Taiwan has not detected any live fire by the Chinese military, the officials said.
China’s foreign ministry said the drills “are legitimate and necessary actions to defend national sovereignty and safeguard national unity”.
“China’s reunification is an unstoppable trend -- it will happen, and it must happen” Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson, said at a regular news conference on Tuesday.
Taiwan dispatches warships
Taiwan's Defence Ministry said in a statement that China's Shandong aircraft carrier group had entered the island's response area on Monday, adding that it had dispatched military aircraft and ships and activated land-based missile systems in response.
The drills took place after Hegseth left the region following visits to Japan and the Philippines, where he criticised China and said Japan was “indispensable” for tackling Chinese aggression.
A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters, citing internal assessments, that Beijing needed to avoid any “perceived confrontation” with Washington prior to the U.S.-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 U.S. defence secretary left Asia,“ the official said.
The de facto U.S. embassy, the American Institute in Taiwan, said the United States will continue to support the island.
“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.
“Closing In”
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 a barrage of missiles firing into the sky before exploding on their targets.
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 Defence Minister Wellington Koo said such rhetoric was not conducive to peace and “shows their provocative character”.
A third video, “Subdue Demons and Vanquish Evils”, featured Sun Wukong, the magical monkey king from the Ming Dynasty epic “Journey to the West” as he is depicted in the “Black Myth: Wukong” hit video game.
It opens with the video's title flashing across the screen and the Chinese mythical warrior riding on clouds before cutting to footage of Chinese fighter jets.
A fourth poster, released later in the day and titled “Enveloping Advance”, had the Chinese characters of its title covering the island and ships and bomber aircraft positioned to its northwest and southeast.
Taiwan's Koo told reporters the PLA should focus first on resolving its issues with corruption instead of destroying peace and stability in the region.
China's military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge over the past few years, which saw former Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu ousted in October 2024.
China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Koo's remarks.
The Taiwan security source, citing internal intelligence assessments, said China was trying to busy its military with exercises as a way of distracting and stopping its soldiers from discussing the corruption crackdown amongst themselves on base.
China’s coast guard said it was also taking part in the drills, saying it was simulating “inspection and capture, interception and detention operations against unwarranted vessels” to show its exercise of “legitimate jurisdiction” over Taiwan.
The Global Times, which is owned by the People’s Daily newspaper of the governing Chinese Communist Party, said the drill had not been given a code name to show that Chinese military forces surrounding the island “has become a normal practice,“ citing Zhang Chi of National Defence University.
“Through a series of exercises held in the Taiwan Strait in recent years, the PLA has strongly enhanced its ability to prepare for war and fight battles,“ the article on the paper’s Weixin social media page added.
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