Beijing, China.- China began two days of military exercises this Thursday “around the island of Taiwan” as “strong punishment” for “separatist acts” in this territory after the inauguration of a new president detested by Beijing. He Taiwan Ministry of Defense He said that he had detected 49 Chinese aircraft as part of the Beijing maneuvers.
Of those planes, “35 crossed the median line,” referring to the line that divides the Taiwan Strait, located between the island and mainland China.
Considered by the communist authorities as a “dangerous separatist”, Lai Ching-te was sworn in as president on Monday with a speech in which he celebrated democracy in Taiwan and insist China to “cease their political and military intimidation.”
China, which claims sovereignty over the separately governed island since 1949 and has never ruled out the use of force to take control of it, denounced his words as a “confession of independence.”
The maneuvers began early Thursday with the deployment of military aircraft and ships “around the island of Taiwan,” the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced.
These maneuvers are a “serious warning” addressed to the “independence supporters” of the island, who will end up “bloodied,” said a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Wang Wenbin.
Taiwanese authorities responded immediately and mobilized their sea, air and land forces.
“We will continue to defend the values of freedom and democracy,” said President Lai.
In coordination with the military, the Taiwan Coast Guard deployed its fleet to “monitor movements in the surrounding maritime waters” and defend “the country’s sovereignty and security with a firm attitude.”
Taiwan deployed four fighter jets from the Hsinchu base, about 60 km southwest of Taipei.
China’s threat to Taiwan
The exercises “are taking place in the Taiwan Strait, to the north, south and east of the island of Taiwan,” reported the official Chinese press agency Xinhua.
According to Colonel Li Xi, army spokesman, the exercises represent “strong punishment for the separatist acts of the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and a serious warning against interference and provocation by external forces.” With them, “joint real combat capabilities will be put to the test,” he said.
Professor at the National Defense University in Beijing, Zhang Chi, commented on state television CCTV that the exercises seek to “impose an economic blockade on the island”, “strangling” the port of Kaohsiung, which is of strategic interest for Taiwan.
With this blockade, “vital energy imports for Taiwan” can be cut off and “blocked the support that some US allies provide to the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces,” according to the academic.
The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, asked all parties “to refrain from any action that leads to an escalation of tensions in the region,” according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, indicated this Thursday.
The United States “firmly called on Beijing to act with restraint,” said a senior US official.
The military exercises deployed by China “are reckless, raise the risks of escalation and violate norms that have maintained regional peace and stability for decades,” he added.
China’s act, “expected” but “worrying”
Relations between Beijing and Taipei have deteriorated significantly since the rise to power of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016, who, like her successor Lai, is a staunch defender of the island’s democratic model.
Beijing increased military, diplomatic and economic pressure on this island of 23 million inhabitants that, although it barely enjoys international recognition, has a government, an army and its own currency.
“We were expecting something like this, honestly,” acknowledged the deputy commander of the US army in the region, Lieutenant General Stephen Sklenka, at an event in Canberra. “It’s worrying,” he added.
In August, China launched military exercises in response to then-Vice President Lai’s stop in the United States amid a trip to Paraguay.
Months earlier, in April, Chinese armed forces pretended to surround the island after Tsai met in California with then-U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Events in this area can have important economic consequences, since 70% of the world’s semiconductor production comes from Taiwan and more than 50% of freight containers cross the strait that separates this island from mainland China.
Source: afp
