In a display of military prowess aimed at increasing pressure on Taiwan\u2019s new leader Lai Ching-te, China continued its large-scale military exercises surrounding the island for a second consecutive day on Friday. The manoeuvres, which involved China\u2019s army, navy, air, and rocket forces, were conducted to test capabilities for \u201cseizing control of crucial areas,\u201d according to state-run China Central Television.<\/p>\n
Following Monday\u2019s inauguration of Lai, whom Beijing condemns as a separatist, the mainland deployed dozens of warplanes, destroyers, and escort ships in the Taiwan Strait region. Taiwan\u2019s Defense Ministry reported the presence of 49 Chinese military aircraft, 19 navy vessels, and seven China Coast Guard ships operating near the self-ruled island within 24 hours.<\/p>\n
The Chinese military\u2019s Eastern Theater Command, responsible for the Taiwan Strait region, described the drills as a \u201cstrong punishment\u201d for those advocating independence for the island and issued a \u201cstern warning\u201d against external interference and provocation.<\/p>\n
Chen Binhua, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, defended the exercises as \u201ca just act to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,\u201d warning of \u201cresolute measures\u201d against separatist activities.<\/p>\n
The United States urged China to exercise restraint, emphasizing that Beijing\u2019s actions risked escalation and undermined long-standing regional peace and stability. In his inaugural speech, Lai asserted Taiwan\u2019s sovereignty as an independent nation, emphasizing that it is not subordinate to the mainland while pledging to maintain the status quo.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s latest military drills near Taiwan echo similar exercises conducted in August 2022 and twice in 2023, prompted by high-level contacts between U.S. officials and Taiwan. Since the civil war in 1949, China and Taiwan have been governed separately, with Beijing seeking reunification with the island, even if it means resorting to force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China\u2019s extensive military exercises near Taiwan, spanning its army, navy, air, and rocket forces, aim to pressure Taiwan\u2019s new leader, Lai Ching-te. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":367,"featured_media":18179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[443,175,3870,261],"class_list":["post-18178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-taiwan","tag-beijing","tag-china","tag-lai-ching-te","tag-taiwan"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/367"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}