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LAST UPDATE | 8 Apr 2023
CHINA LAUNCHED MILITARY drills around Taiwan today, in what it called a “stern warning” to the self-ruled island’s government following a meeting between its president and the US House speaker.
Dubbed “United Sharp Sword”, the three-day operation — which state media said includes rehearsing an encirclement of Taiwan — will run until Monday, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen immediately denounced the drills, pledging to work with “the US and other like-minded countries” in the face of “continued authoritarian expansionism”.
China’s war games would send planes, ships and personnel into “the maritime areas and air space of the Taiwan Strait, off the northern and southern coasts of the island, and to the island’s east”, said Shi Yin, a PLA spokesman.
A report from state broadcaster CCTV said: “The task force will simultaneously organise patrols and advances around Taiwan island, shaping an all-round encirclement and deterrence posture.”
The report went on to detail the type of weaponry China was putting through its paces, including “long-range rocket artillery, naval destroyers, missile boats, air force fighters, bombers, jammers and refuellers”.
Taiwan’s defence ministry released a video showing soldiers loading anti-aircraft missile launchers, fighter jets taking off, and other military preparedness exercises.
The footage included surveillance of China’s Shandong aircraft carrier, which sailed through waters south of Taiwan earlier this week.
The 75-second clip, which included English subtitles, ended with a caption saying: “We seek neither escalation nor conflict, but we remain steadfast, rational, and serious to react and defend our territory and sovereignty.”
Exercises on Monday will include live-fire drills off the coast of China’s Fujian province, which faces Taiwan, the local maritime authority said.
The manoeuvres come after a meeting between Tsai and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
China views democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to seize it one day, by force if necessary.
“These operations serve as a stern warning against the collusion between separatist forces seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ and external forces and against their provocative activities,” the PLA’s Shi said.
“The operations are necessary for safeguarding China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Taiwan’s defence ministry said eight Chinese warships and 42 fighter jets were detected around the island today.
The ministry expressed “solemn condemnation of such irrational actions”, adding the detections included 29 jets that crossed into Taiwan’s southwestern air defence identification zone (ADIZ), the highest number in a single day this year, according to data collected by AFP.
China was using Tsai’s US visit as an “excuse to conduct military exercises, which has seriously undermined peace, stability and security in the region”, the Taiwanese ministry said.
The drills also follow the departure from Beijing of French President Emmanuel Macron and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, who were in China to urge Xi Jinping to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
China deployed warships, missiles and fighter jets around Taiwan last August in its largest show of force in years, following a trip to the island by McCarthy’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi.
McCarthy, who is second in line to the US presidency, had originally planned to go to Taiwan himself.
The decision to meet in California instead was viewed as a compromise that would underscore support for Taiwan but avoid inflaming tensions with Beijing.
There were no immediate signs today of heightened military activity on Pingtan, a southeastern Chinese island that is the closest point on the mainland to Taiwan.
A handful of cargo ships cruised through the waters near the coastline, while tourists in sunglasses and baseball caps snapped selfies on viewing platforms.
Tsai returned to Taiwan yesterday after visiting her island’s dwindling band of official diplomatic allies in Latin America, with two US stopovers that included meetings with McCarthy and other lawmakers.
Hours before Tsai met McCarthy on Wednesday, China sent the carrier Shandong through Taiwan’s southeastern waters on its way to the western Pacific.
Beijing said Friday that “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China”, after repeatedly warning against the Tsai-McCarthy meeting.
“The future of Taiwan lies in reunification with the motherland,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular news briefing.
Chinese military commentator Song Zhongping said the exercises were intended to demonstrate that the Chinese army will be ready if “provocation intensifies” to “solve the Taiwan issue once and for all”.
Dr James Char, research fellow at the China Programme Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore, said the drills underline Beijing’s “nationalist credentials to its domestic audience and score political points at home”.
“It would also be remiss to overlook the fact that the PLA has only begun its drills this time after French President Emmanuel Macron had concluded his state visit to China,” he told AFP.
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Taiwan is as much a part of China as Northern Ireland is a part of Ireland.
The US has a State named Hawaii that is 4000km from it’s mainland.
Taiwan is only 50km from China’s mainland.
@Roger Bond: A better analogy is Taiwan is as much a part of China as Northern Ireland is part of Britain. Taiwan was invaded, colonised and ethnically cleansed by to make it “Chinese”.
@Roger Bond: Since when has Northern Ireland became part of Iteland??
@Alastar O’Leader: Well it’s in Ireland,so I would safely say from the start.
@Alastar O’Leader: Since the start of time .
An artificial border was placed along the north eastern 6 counties by an aggressive neighbour under the threat of military force 100 years ago.
@Alastar O’Leader: Can’t be sure you are Irish or not. Irish constitution: THE NATION, ARTICLE 2
It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, to be part of the Irish Nation. That is also the entitlement of all persons otherwise qualified in accordance with law to be citizens of Ireland. Furthermore, the Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage. They didn’t make that part for fun or without fact.
Serious question: What do you guys think will actually happen if China ‘go in to’ Taiwan? What will the USA actually do? Sanctions?
@Kenmark: Stock up on the booze and cigarettes, find a nice quiet cave , at least it will make the mushroom clouds look good. Seriously, if the US/China goes to war..it really will not matter who fired first.
@Donal Desmond: Yes, that would be an unwinnable war. Pity they can not sit down and work out an agreement. It’s a bit like the other war. They prefer not to talk to each other and throw insults at each other like children.
@Michael Dowling: Unfortunately that has been the way of mankind. The only species with a self destruct button. The next nuclear war will not be an 8 episode series on Netflix.
@Kenmark: The US will try to fight China by using other nations like japan or south korea. Sad.
@Kenmark: this is about who will be the new supreme world power. They both want war to show the other who’s boss. it’s probably inevitable at this stage. Unfortunately the entire world will suffer the consequences.
All bark. The PRC would invade if they were confident of winning. But 100km of water might as well be 1,000km of land. Russia has a better chance with Ukraine.
Anyone who wants an insight into Chinesse thinking should read Fire of the dragon by Ian Williams. It’s a great read on how China uses its economic power through out the world. One of levers it has is isolating Taiwan politically
@Diarmuid Dorney: Hardly any country recognises Taiwan as an independent state, not even the US.
@Diarmuid Dorney: Amazing no mention of the use of military or economic used by the imperial European powers and the U.S. who plundered China for decades. It still rankles the U.S. on how the lost China..They backed the wrong dictator.
@Diarmuid Dorney: Reading it right now….”giant anaconda squeezing the life out of everything”…..great book.
First the west messed with Russia…….and now they mess with China. Sad.
@Alastar O’Leader: I thought the Russians messed with Ukraine.
@Paul Furey: Wrong. Think AGAIN pal
The only way China won’t invade Taiwan is if us Westeners Bboycott all Chinese goods.
And we all know that isn’t going to happen!
Still waiting on all the Irish Trump protestors to show up at the Chinese Embassy here….
@Paul: The west is completely dependant on China. It’s a toxic relationship.
@Peter John McDaid: that works both ways
@Peter John McDaid: china cant feed itself. be a pretty easy task for the US navy to starve them into submission
@Rian Lynch: Think the Chinese might have something to say about that. If it was that easy the U.S. would have done it long ago.
@Paul: Eeh Absolutely No. Russian huge market would welcome Chinese products.
@Donal Desmond: they might try but they couldnt really do much about it. most chinese sea traffic goes through the Malaca strait. close that and its pretty much all over. why would the US do it ? US needs China to be the aggressor in any potential war.
@Rian Lynch: Militarily is doesn’t really matter which is stronger. Both are nuclear powers. Eventually one side or the other will convince themselves nuclear war can be won. Good luck with that one. When you consider China in 1947 after the civil war was a country destroyed by WW2 and decades of civil wars . The U.S. could have talked to Mao, but instead backed a despot . China is certainly not without its faults, but the economic advancement has been phenomenal. The West criticise China for its economy, yet it was the profits and greed of Western countries that as Trump would put it..Made China great again.
@Alastar O’Leader: russian economy is the size of Italys hardly a huge market
@Donal Desmond: Mao wasnt a despot? be real here . the worst thing about china is their stubborn refusal to allow any sort of freedoms to the chinese people. its probably why the taiwanese will fight against china
@Rian Lynch: Do you think if Chiang Kai Shek had won China would be a better place? .The U.S. supported him with Billions of dollars and arms, and still lost because he was corrupt and had not the support of the vast majority. Had he won China would be a vessel of the U.S. The American version of Democracy which they tried to enforce in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos certainly did not work. The people of these countries had not much freedom of choice when the U.S. tried to impose their version of Democracy upon them. Not defending China, but the hypocrisy of the U.S. and the West is comical.
@Donal Desmond: look at how taiwan turned out. all those countries moved to democracy as well after some pretty horrific times as communist . even the vietnamese invaded cambodia
@Rian Lynch: True ,Vietnam invaded Cambodia, but you will recall the U.S. created the reason the Khmer Rouge existed. Vietnam is still a communist country, and is doing OK. When you take into account the destruction of the country after the war. Yes there were horrible times in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos. A major part of the wars was the installation and removal of governments by the U.S. to enforce so called U.S. version of Democracy..in other words U.S. satellite countries.
@Donal Desmond: yeah but you’re conveniently ignoring where the communist governements came from . the USSR and China played an equally important part in the asian conflicts
China is in China taiwan is china.. so no story here.. they can do what they want.. not like westnato thousand km away from own border trying to impose their views and so called values…! ¦|
@Bass Boss: what do you mean impose their values? taiwan is already a democracy
@Bass Boss: 23 million Taiwanese that live on the island of Taiwan do not agree with an anonymous poster from Ireland.
Anyone left with TokTik on their phones will immediately burst into flames
@Thom Thumb: Amerikan propaganda worked well here LOL
@Alastar O’Leader: they admitted to spying on their own journalists and foreign nationalists. Google before you post
China won’t do anything, unless you mention Winnie the Pooh.
A Chinese invasion of Tiawan would be fairly difficult in comparison with the Russian invasion of Ukraine considering one is a land attack and the other is a sea attack. The Chinese invasion would need to be very swift while risking losing massive numbers of men I would have thought.
2021, chinese central gov announced its National Highway Network Planning. One of it is from FUZhou to TaiPei, distance 250km, including bridges crossing the sea, tunnels undersea, road, railway, high speed train… project will finish before 2035. Chinese high speed train now is 350km/h, max 600km/h
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