- China has completed three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan
- Military experts say Chinese exercises serve both as intimidation and practice
- Animation shared by military showed how it would bombard island with missiles
China's military has declared it is 'ready to fight and smash Taiwanese independence', releasing an animated video simulating how it would launch an all-out attack on the self-governing island nation.
The clip, shared by the Chinese military's Eastern Theatre Command's official WeChat account and later posted on Twitter by The Global Times, showed how Beijing would launch a torrent of missiles from the mainland and its navy in the Taiwan Strait to demolish Taiwan's defences before invading.
It comes as China's military completed three days of large-scale 'combat readiness patrols' which simulated completely sealing off the island in a military blockade and were described by defence officials as a 'warning'.
'The theatre's troops are ready to fight at all times and can fight at any time to resolutely smash any form of ''Taiwan independence'' and foreign interference attempts,' the military said Monday.
The exercises were similar to ones conducted by Beijing last August, when it launched missile strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan in retaliation for then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island - seen by Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of China.
Military experts say the exercises serve both as intimidation and as an opportunity for Chinese troops to practice sealing off Taiwan by blocking sea and air traffic, an important strategic option the Chinese military might pursue in the event it uses military force to take Taiwan.
Tsai met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week, before a U.S. congressional delegation reconvened with her over the weekend in Taiwan upon her return home.
China responded immediately to the McCarthy meeting by imposing a travel ban and financial sanctions against those associated with Tsai's U.S. trip and with increased military activity through the weekend.
Beijing says contact between foreign officials and the island's democratic government encourages Taiwanese movements who want formal independence from China, a step China's ruling Communist Party says would lead to war.
The sides split in 1949 after a civil war, and the Communist Party says the island is obliged to rejoin the mainland, by force if necessary.
'China wants to use any increase of diplomatic interactions between the U.S. and Taiwan as an excuse to train its military,' said Kuo Yu-jen, a defence studies expert and director of the Institute for National Policy Research in Taiwan.
After Pelosi visited Taiwan last year, China conducted missiles strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan, while also sending warships and war planes over the median line of the Taiwan Strait. It also fired missiles over the island itself which landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone, in a significant escalation.
The live-fire exercises disrupted flights and shipping in one of the busiest shipping lanes for global trade.
The exercises this time have focused more on air strength, with Taiwan reporting 200 flights by Chinese warplanes in the past three days.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, citing the People's Liberation Army, said the exercises are 'simulating the joint sealing off' of Taiwan as well as 'waves of simulated strikes' at important targets on the island.
China's military harassment of Taiwan has intensified in recent years with planes or ships sent toward the island on a near-daily basis, with the numbers rising in reaction to sensitive activities. The military activity has increased a notch since Pelosi's visit, with Chinese PLA fighter jets regularly flying over the middle boundary line.
Experts say PLA navy vessels regularly navigate the waters off Taiwan's northeastern coast.
Meanwhile, to the south in the South China Sea, the U.S. 7th Fleet said its missile destroyer USS Milius sailed by Mischief Reef in a freedom of navigation operation. China has built an artificial island on the sea feature to stake its claim to the disputed territory.
2 comments:
IF CCP wants to destroy life, trust me, there is a way to nip them so quick, and if we find ourselves in a head on predicament and don't do such a scenario, shame on us, IMO!
Rumors of War all because no Leadership in the great USA, IMO!
China has said they do not have to invade, as Taiwan has been totally vaccinated, all they have to do is wait. This is all smoke and mirrors for your entertainment.
AS the people die they will be replaced by loyal Chinese and in 2050 they will vote to rejoin China, all going to the stated plan.
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