China’s military has been showing its muscles near Taiwan this week, practicing joint force operations well out at sea, ahead of Taipei’s annual war games at the end of the month, in which Taiwan will mimic breaking a Chinese blockade.
China, which considers democratically controlled Taiwan to be its territory, has staged frequent exercises surrounding the island for the past three years in order to put pressure on Taipei to acknowledge Beijing’s claim of sovereignty.
According to Taiwan’s defence ministry, China has launched dozens of fighters, bombers, and other aircraft, including drones, into the skies to Taiwan’s south, with some crossing the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan from the Philippines, and into the Pacific, to join Chinese warships.
Some of the planes violated the Taiwan Strait median line, an unofficial buffer that separates the two sides, and came within 24 nautical miles of Taiwan’s coasts, the island’s contiguous zone, causing harassment, according to Taiwan security officials.
According to Chieh Chung, a military expert at Taiwan’s National Policy Foundation think tank, long-distance missions are vital for China since they will be the main combat mode in any confrontation.
“China regards breaking through the first island chain as an important tactical goal”, he said, referring to the line of islands that runs from Japan to Taiwan, the Philippines, and on to Borneo, containing China’s coastal seas.
The Chinese Ministry of Defence did not respond to a request for comment. When asked about the drills on Thursday, China’s foreign ministry stated, “The Chinese people will never waver in our resolve and determination to uphold China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The main yearly Han Kuang exercises, which focus on protecting Taiwan’s principal international airport and keeping sea channels open in the event of a Chinese blockade, take place in the last week of this month.
China conducted drills surrounding the island in April after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.
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