One day after Beijing’s official conclusion of three days of military drills in the waters surrounding Taiwan, the Chinese navy was not done. On Tuesday, April 11th, Chinese warships and planes conducted “actual combat training” in the waters around Taiwan, Chinese state television reported.
The exercises were intended to “test the organizational and command capabilities of commanders at all levels and the combat effectiveness of weapons and equipment,” the state news outlet said.
China began its so-called “combat readiness patrols” under ‘Operation Joint Sword’ on Saturday, April 8th, retaliating for Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting in Los Angeles with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a dozen of its members from across the political aisle.
Maneuvers took place in the maritime areas and airspace of the Taiwan Strait, off the northern and southern coasts of the island, and to the island’s east, said Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the command.
Shi added that these served as a stern warning against the collusion between separatist forces seeking “Taiwan independence” and external forces and against their provocative activities.
Zhang Benming, a PLA Air Force senior colonel of the Eastern Theater Command, commented that Chinese troops were “ready and able to fight at any time to resolutely crush any form of attempt to seek ‘Taiwan independence’ and external interference,” as they have the “courage to fight and the mettle to win.”
Military experts say the exercises serve a dual function, as it allows Beijing to intimidate Taipei while offering Chinese troops an opportunity to practice a sealing off of Taiwan by blocking sea and air traffic—a logical first move in the event of China attempting its capture by military means.
On Saturday, statements made by Representative Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, who was present at the meeting with Tsai, upped the ante even more.
His committee, he announced, would start work on shoring up the island government’s defenses, while encouraging Congress to speed up military aid to Taiwan—a strategy analogous to the U.S.’ approach to Ukraine and Russia, and which in this case would decidedly shift the U.S.’ current stance on Taiwan—that of ‘strategic ambiguity’—to one of ‘strategic clarity.’
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has condemned China for its “irresponsible” behavior, which she felt was unbecoming of a major Asian nation.
In a statement, Tsai said that she represented Taiwan in the world, “whether it is a visit to allied countries or stopping through in the U.S. and interacting with our international friends, and not only has this been going on for years, it is the Taiwanese people’s shared expectation,” she explained. “But China,” she went on to note, “used this as a pretext to start military drills, creating instability in the Taiwan Strait and region.”
Last August, China launched missile strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan following then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Just as with Pelosi, Beijing views McCarthy’s recognition of Taiwan’s sovereignty as provocative, as it sees Taiwan as a renegade province that one day it will incorporate—whether peaceably, or by force.
The island has been governed independently of Beijing since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
