China-Taiwan news - live: Concern across region as Beijing launches sudden ‘punishment’ drills
China has launched major military exercises close to Taiwan, saying they are “punishment” for the comments of newly elected Taiwanese president Lai Ching-Te.
China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has desribed Mr Lai as “separatist”, and earlier this week denounced Mr Lai’s inauguration speech, in which he called on China to stop its threats. He also said the nations on either side of the Taiwan Strait were “not subordinate to each other”.
Taiwan has scrambled its own jets and put missile, naval and land units on alert after China’s People’s Liberation Army started joint military drills, involving the army, navy, air force and rocket force, in areas around the island at 7.45am.
Taiwan’s defence ministry called the Chinese drills an “irrational provocation that has jeopardised regional peace and stability”. It said that though Taiwan does not seek conflict, it “will not shy away from one”.
The top US general in the Pacific has condemned China’s drill, calling it “the normalisation of abnormal action”. The statement drew an immediate sharp reaction from Beijing, which asked the US to stop supporting “Taiwan independence”.
Countries including Australia, South Korea and the US have raised concerns about the escalation of tensions as they called for “peace and stability” to be maintained.
Key Points
China launches biggest Taiwan drills ever as ‘punishment’ for new president’s defiant speech
Taiwan scrambles jets and puts naval units on alert
China’s drills in Taiwan a blow to US, says expert
Will China invade Taiwan?
12:41 , Namita Singh
China has been ramping up military pressure on Taiwan and has aggressively ratcheted up military exercises around it.
With the PLA sending navy ships and warplanes into the Taiwan Strait and other areas around the island almost daily to wear down Taiwan’s defences and seek to intimidate its people, there are rising concerns about whether Beijing will invade Taiwan.
The concerns are not unfounded as China’s president Xi Jinping in his New Year’s Eve address declared that his country’s armed forces will be ready for a full-scale invasion by 2027, and their commanders maintain that preparations are on schedule. Mr Xi claimed that Taiwan will “surely be reunified” with China.
China’s overall military activity has increased as it carries out a vast expansion of its forces. It rises in scale each time Western naval ships – including American, British, French and Australian vessels – carry out “freedom of navigation” voyages in the international waters Beijing claims as its own. There are also spikes in response to instances in which the international community shows solidarity with Taiwan, such as the visit of the then US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan last year. Beijing reacted by launching barrages of missiles into waters surrounding Taiwan and starting a major military exercise.
Asymmetric warfare, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns also escalated against Taiwan as the elections got closer. The main targets have been those working on the theme of Taiwanese sovereignty including sections of the media, civil rights activists, students, and artists’ groups.
Asian countries call for peace and stability in region
11:28 , Namita Singh
South Korea’s foreign ministry said that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait should be maintained when asked during a briefing about simmering tension between China and Taiwan.
Japan also called on Taiwan and China to resolve the issue “peacefully through dialogue”.
“It is important to clearly communicate the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait directly to China, and work closely with allies including the United States and clearly communicate the shared position of each country,” said Yoshimasa Hayashi, the chief cabinet secretary of Japan.
In pictures: Taiwan scrambles jets as China encircles self-ruled island
11:01 , Namita Singh
China’s mock drill aims to ‘warn’ newly inaugurated Taiwan president
10:37 , Namita Singh
China’s mock military drill is not meant to accomplish anything “more than warn the just-inaugurate” Lai Ching-te administration that they are more than ready to react, and to deter any moves towards so-called Taiwan independence, says Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the institute of defence and strategic studies in Singapore.
Warning about potential escalation between the two, he says: “These opposing forces could actually be operating in pretty close proximity. The Taiwan forces are not just shadowing the individual Chinese assets... that brings them into direct contact with Chinese forces... there is the risk of inadvertent or accidental military clashes.”
For Beijing, Lai Ching-te’s speech asserting Taiwan’s sovereignty “is a declaration of war”, explains Victor Gao, chair professor at Soochow University in China. This is because Mr Lai “clearly distinguished China from Taiwan and completely destroyed the one-China principle.
“China wants to show that if Lai still wants to take the path of Taiwan independence... it can make Taiwan collapse without a war within a week or two, which will deal a fatal blow to the people of Taiwan. I think cross-Strait relations have reached a watershed, if Lai dares take a wrong step forward then there will be a cataclysm.”
Taiwan president says he will continue to defend freedom and democracy
10:14 , Namita Singh
Taiwan president Lai Ching-te said that he will continue to defend the values of freedom and democracy in the face of “external” challenges and threats.
Mr Lai made the comments to military officers in the northern city of Taoyuan, on the same day China launched drills around Taiwan.
China’s military drills ‘normalisation of abnormal action’
09:39 , Namita Singh
China’s military drills near Taiwan is “the normalisation of abnormal action,” says Lieutenant General Stephen Sklenka, deputy commander of US-Indo-Pacific command in Canberra.
“Just because we expect that behaviour doesn’t mean we shouldn’t condemn it,” he says.
“We need to condemn it publicly and it needs to come from us but it also needs to come from nations in the region ... it is far more powerful when it comes from nations in this region. It is concerning but I also believe in my heart of hearts that conflict between our two nations is not inevitable and its not a foregone conclusion.”
China could launch further military drills, Taiwan officials say
09:37 , Namita Singh
China could launch further military drills after the current one near Taiwan is over, having so far staged a series of exercises including mock attacks on Taiwanese and foreign ships, Taiwanese security officials said.
Some Chinese coast guard boats near Taiwan also conducted mock ship-boarding and inspection drills, the officials said, speaking anonymously given the sensitivity of the situation.
China urges US to stop supporting ‘Taiwan independence’ forces
09:35 , Namita Singh
China’s foreign ministry urged the United States to stop supporting and encouraging “Taiwan independence” forces, and that its military exercises around Taiwan are a “necessary and legitimate move.”
Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the comment in response to media reports of remarks by US Lieutenant General Stephen Sklenka’s remarks, who called the drills expected but “concerning.”
Drills aims to shock Lai and blow to US, says expert
09:14 , Namita Singh
China’s drills encircling Taiwan is an attempt to shock newly elected president Lai Ching-te and the island’s independence force, says Wu Xinbo, the director of the Centre for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.
“This is also certainly a blow to the US,” he says as he adds that the drills are a way of showing that “the mainland is willing to increase its deterrence towards Taiwan independence forces and strengthen its capability to mould the Taiwan Strait situation in response to the domestic changes in Taiwan.”
Taiwan scrambles jets and puts naval units on alert
09:06 , Namita Singh
Taiwan scrambled jets and put missile, naval and land units on alert over China’s military exercises.
China’s military said its two-day exercises around Taiwan were punishment for separatist forces seeking independence.
Beijing claims the island is part of China’s national territory and the People’s Liberation Army sends navy ships and warplanes into the Taiwan Strait and other areas around the island almost daily to wear down Taiwan’s defences and seek to intimidate its people, who firmly back their de facto independence.
The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command said the land, navy and air exercises around Taiwan were meant to test the navy and air capabilities of the PLA units, as well as their joint strike abilities to hit targets and win control of the battlefield, the command said on its official Weibo account.
“This is also a powerful punishment for the separatist forces seeking ‘independence’ and a serious warning to external forces for interference and provocation,” the statement said.
Watch live: Taiwan’s president visits military base as China surrounds country with mock invasion drills
08:46 , Namita Singh
Watch live: Taiwan president visits military base amid China mock invasion drills
Taiwan condemns China’s military drills
08:42 , Namita Singh
Taiwan’s defence ministry condemned the drills, saying that it had dispatched forces to areas around the island. The air defences and land-based missile forces are also tracking targets, it said.
“The launch of military exercises on this occasion not only does not contribute to the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, it also highlights (China’s) militaristic mentality,” the ministry said.
Taiwan’s presidential office expressed regret that China was threatening the island’s democratic freedoms and regional peace and stability with its “unilateral military provocations”, but said people could rest assured Taiwan could ensure its security.
The Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said it had started joint military drills, involving the army, navy, air force and rocket force, in areas around Taiwan at 7.45am.
The drills are being conducted in the Taiwan Strait, the north, south and east of Taiwan, as well as areas around the Taiwan-controlled islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin, the command said in a statement.
China launches biggest Taiwan drills ever as ‘punishment’ for new president’s defiant speech
08:19 , Namita Singh
China‘s has declared two days of major military exercises simulating an invasion of Taiwan, a provocative move that it describes as “punishment” for the island’s newly-inaugurated president.
Dozens of Chinese fighter jets carrying live missiles were scrambled towards Taiwan on Thursday morning without any advance warning, and Beijing conducted mock strikes in targeted areas around the island.
Report:
China launches biggest Taiwan drills ever as ‘punishment’ for new president
08:18 , Namita Singh
Welcome to The Independent’s liveblog for Thursday 23 May, where we provide the latest on the tensions brewing between China and Taiwan as Asia’s superpower launches mock drills around the island.
