Mainland China launches military drill near Taiwan in ‘severe warning to separatist forces’
People’s Liberation Army stages joint exercise by air force and navy near the island in response to ‘engagement with foreign forces and provocations’ It comes a day after Taiwanese presidential candidate William Lai returns from Paraguay trip, during which he stopped in US, provoking Beijing’s ire
Josephine Ma11:51am, 19 Aug, 2023
The People’s Liberation Army has staged a military drill around Taiwan as a “severe warning to separatist forces” following angry statements by Beijing over stopovers in the United States by Taiwanese vice-president William Lai Ching-te.
The PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command launched joint exercises by its air force and navy around the island to review its combat capability, it said in a statement on Saturday.
“It is a severe warning to Taiwan separatists for their collusion with foreign forces and provocations,” it said.
Command spokesman Shi Yi described the drills, conducted off the north and southwest sides of the island, as exercises to “seize maritime and airspace control”.
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They included submarine search and anti-submarine operations to “test the capability of the command’s forces in coordinated operations and systematic confrontation.”
China’s Central Television also aired a video clip of the drills. It said that the exercise had involved destroyers, corvettes, missile boats, fighter jets, air warning systems and rocket forces in a simulated encirclement of the island.
The drill was launched a day after Lai, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential candidate, returned from a trip to Paraguay last week, during which he stopped over in New York and San Francisco.
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Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had detected 42 PLA aircraft, 26 of which crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, a de facto dividing line. The PLA aircraft also conducted a joint combat patrol with 8 navy vessels.
The ministry said the Taiwanese military was closely monitoring the situation and had deployed aircraft, naval vessels and land-based missile systems in response.
“The launch of the military exercise this time not only does not help peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, but also highlights [Beijing’s] militaristic mentality,” the ministry said.
Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu Jaushieh accused Beijing of trying to “shape” Taiwan’s upcoming election.
William Lai pictured during his stopover in San Francisco, a visit that enraged Beijing. Photo: Reuters
“The PRC has made it clear it wants to shape Taiwan’s coming national election. Well, it’s up to our citizens to decide, not the bully next door,” Wu wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Lai’s trip has infuriated Beijing. A statement issued by Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Saturday accused Lai as “leaning on the United States” and “conspiring” to promote Taiwanese independence.
It described Lai’s trip to Paraguay and the stopovers as “provocations” and evidence of further collusion between the DPP and the United States.
“(Lai) is a 100 per cent worker for Taiwanese independence and a troublemaker. He will only push Taiwan into the dangerous situation of dreadful battles,” it said.
The United States, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but is opposed to any forcible change in the status quo.
Beijing has also stepped up pressure on Taiwan on the economic front.
On Thursday and Friday, it hinted that a trade agreement signed by Beijing and Taipei, which waived or cut tariffs on many Taiwanese exports to the mainland, might be revised following an investigation launched by Beijing over the island’s tariffs on mainland goods.
The investigation will end in October but can be extended for three months until January, when Taiwan will hold its presidential elections.
