China commenced extensive military exercises around Taiwan on Tuesday, conveying a “severe warning” and signaling a “forceful containment against Taiwan independence,” according to Chinese authorities.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported tracking 19 Chinese naval vessels in the waters surrounding Taiwan over a 24-hour period ending at 6 a.m. Tuesday. These drills, involving Chinese naval, air, ground, and rocket forces, were conducted without prior notice.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office condemned the exercises on X, stating, “China’s blatant military provocations not only threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait but also undermine security in the entire region, as evidenced by drills near Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and the South China Sea. We strongly condemn China’s escalatory behavior.”
Taiwan also reported monitoring the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong since Saturday, noting its entry into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Monday. Taiwan responded by deploying military aircraft and ships and activating land-based missile systems, as reported by Reuters.
Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo stated, “I want to say these actions amply reflect (China’s) destruction of regional peace and stability.”
Xinhua News Agency reported that the Eastern Theater Command conducted “multi-subject drills in waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island” on Tuesday.
Xinhua quoted the theater command, stating it “organized its vessel and aircraft formations, in coordination with conventional missile troops and long-range rocket launching systems, to conduct drills of air interception, assault on maritime targets, strikes on ground objects, and joint blockade and control.”
The exercises were “aimed at testing the troops’ capabilities of carrying out integrated operations, seizure of operational control and multi-directional precision strikes, the command said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office also indicated the exercises targeted Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s president, who is perceived as strongly pro-independence.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office stated, “Lai Ching-te stubbornly insists on a ‘Taiwan independence’ stance, brazenly labeling the mainland as a ‘foreign hostile force,’ and has put forward a so-called “17-point strategy … stirring up anti-China sentiments. We will not tolerate or condone this in any way and must resolutely counter and severely punish these actions.”