Taiwan condemns China drills as ‘irrational provocations’

BBC:

Taiwan’s defence ministry has condemned China’s military exercises around the self-ruled island as “irrational provocations”.

The drills come just three days after the inauguration of Taiwanese president William Lai, whom Beijing has labelled as a “separatist” and a “troublemaker”.

They are happening all around the main island, and the Taipei-controlled islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin.

A spokesperson for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has called them a “strong punishment” for “separatist acts”.

Taipei has dispatched naval, air, and ground forces to “defend the [island’s] sovereignty”, its defence ministry added.

China’s military said its drills focus on joint sea-air combat-readiness patrols, precision strikes on key targets, and integrated operations inside and outside the island to test the “joint real combat capabilities” of its forces.

Military analysts say Taiwan’s outlying islands close to the Chinese coast have been included as targets for the first time, based on maps released by the PLA.

Taiwanese media cited military expert Chieh Chung saying the ongoing exercise is aimed at “simulating a full-scale armed invasion of Taiwan”.

In August 2022, following a historic visit by then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, China carried out its first “encirclement” operation, simulating a blockade of the main island of Taiwan with ships, aircraft and missile strikes. Military incursions into Taiwanese waters and airspace have become a nearly weekly affair since then.