China will never renounce the “use of force” to take control of Taiwan, the Chinese government said on Monday after concluding a day of military exercises around the autonomous island that it claimed was a “stern warning” to “separatist” forces. He insisted that he would not.
The Chinese government, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, is sending fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard vessels to attack the island in its fourth large-scale military exercise in just over two years. surrounded.
The United States called China’s actions “unjustified” and called on the Chinese government to act with restraint, saying there was a risk of “escalation.”
China declared the end of the drill at around 6:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. Japan time), about 13 hours after it began.
Defense Ministry Spokesman Wu Qian said shortly after, “While we sincerely strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification, we will never commit to abandoning the use of force and will not leave any room for “Taiwan independence”.” said.
The exercise, named Joint Sword-2024B, “fully tested the military’s comprehensive joint operation capabilities,” military spokesman Capt. Li Xi said in a statement.
President Lai Ching-de, who took office in May, has been more outspoken than his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen in defending Taiwan’s sovereignty, angering the Chinese government, which calls him a “separatist.”
Mr. Lai on Monday vowed to “defend democratic Taiwan and safeguard national security,” but said the Defense Ministry had dispatched “appropriate forces” in response to the training.
Taiwan detected 125 Chinese aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, from early morning until late afternoon, a defense ministry official said, a single-day record. 17 warships were also discovered.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said the remote island controlled by Taipei was on “high alert.”
The Chinese government said the exercise served as a “stern warning against the secessionist actions of ‘Taiwan independence’ forces.”
Li said earlier that the drills took place in “the northern, southern and eastern regions of Taiwan Island.”
Li said their objective was to focus on the subject of “sea-air combat readiness patrols, blockade of major ports and areas.”
The previous large-scale training exercise was held in May, three days after Yori took office, and was called “Kyodo Sword-2024A” and lasted two days.
～China Coast Guard “Inspection”～
China’s Coast Guard has also been dispatched to carry out “inspections,” and a diagram released by the Coast Guard shows a fleet of four ships surrounding Taiwan, moving counter-clockwise around the island. It is shown that there is.
The Coast Guard Bureau in eastern Fujian province, which is closest to Taiwan on the mainland, also said it had conducted “comprehensive law enforcement patrols” in waters near the Matsu Islands, which are under Taipei’s effective control.
Taiwan announced that four Chinese Coast Guard vessels patrolled the island and temporarily entered the restricted area, but they did not enter the restricted area.
China has stepped up its military activities around Taiwan in recent years, sending military aircraft and other military aircraft, while maintaining a near-constant presence of its own ships around the island’s waters.
“In the face of enemy threats, all Taiwan’s soldiers are fully prepared,” Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said on Monday.
National Security Council Director-General Joseph Wu said Mr. Lai had convened a high-level security meeting over the exercise, which he called “a violation of international law.”
In his National Day speech on Thursday, he vowed to “resist annexation” and insisted that Beijing and Taipei were “not mutually dependent.”
Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party has long defended Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, which has its own government, military and currency.
– “I feel a little numb” –
Lt. Col. Fu Zhengnan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, said in a video shared by state media that the training “could switch from training to combat at any time.”
“If the Taiwanese separatists provoke even once, the People’s Liberation Army’s operations around the island will be the first to act,” Fu said, referring to the People’s Liberation Army.
Taiwan’s coast guard on Monday said it had detained a Chinese man on one of its remote islands for possible “gray zone intrusion,” citing tactics that fall short of a direct act of war.
In Taipei, people seemed mostly unfazed.
“Drills are held frequently so I don’t panic too much,” Benjamin Xiao, a 34-year-old engineer, told AFP.
Anyway, it’s not the first time in recent years, so I feel a little numb.
In Pingtan, the closest town to mainland Taiwan from mainland China, one local resident said, “I hope we can live in peace.”
“I don’t think there will be a war. China is strong enough to prevent a war now,” restaurant owner Hu Fengping told AFP.
The conflict between China and Taiwan dates back to the civil war in 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang forces were defeated by Mao Zedong’s communist fighters and fled to Taiwan.
Since then, China and Taiwan have been ruled separately.
Birds Oho/SN
