The appearance of structures similar to the Presidential Office Building in China’s recent war games sparked Internet debate over whether the footage was a targeted provocation against Taiwan and a demonstration of China’s willingness to resort to military force to unify Taiwan with China.
In the most recent Military Report show aired by Chinese state-media China Central Television (CCTV) on July 5, exercises at the Zhurihe Training Base in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region successfully simulated a “decapitation” strategy and demonstrated high efficiency in intelligence gathering where unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), helicopters and recon teams sent back hundreds of photographs to command.
The three-minute video clip featured special forces personnel sprinting into a five-story building with a tower in one of the Stride 2015 Zhurihe series of exercises by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Photo: CNA screen grab from CCTV
The footage showing Chinese troops maneuvering toward a building resembling the Presidential Office Building was not the first time Chinese forces have simulated an attack on Taiwan in military exercises.
The PLA reportedly built a replica of Taichung’s shared-use Cingcyuangang Air Field in China’s Gansu Province to simulate attacks on the airfield. The PLA Army, PLA Air Force and special forces also reportedly established a special forces team in the Nanjing military zone that was fluent in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) earlier this year.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) yesterday said that the implied target of the military exercise was detrimental to cross-strait relations and was not an action either the Taiwanese or the international community could accept.
The ministry is up to date on all PLA exercises and while adhering to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) instructions of “three defensive lines” and not embarking on an arms race with China, the military maintains a force that would effectively deter Taiwan’s enemies and capably defend the nation, Lo said.
The three defensive lines refers to Ma’s previous statements, with the first being institutionalized relations with China; the other two the country’s soft power and international support for Taiwan.
Additional reporting by CNA
The domestically designed Teng Yun 2 drone passed development milestones over the weekend, flying for more than 10 hours straight and circling Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), in the longest flight of an indigenous uncrewed combat aerial vehicle. Developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, the Teng Yun 2, or “Cloud Rider” (騰雲二型), recorded its longest flight yet over the weekend, after a three-hour test flight last month, followed by five and seven-hour stretches in the air. The Teng Yun 2 No. 1812 departed from Chiashan Air Base in Hualien County at 6:46pm on Saturday and flew on a
OVER THE HUMP: In a seven-day period ending on Wednesday, the nation reported 366,628 new cases, down 19 percent from the 451,358 reported in the previous week The nation might further open up to more arrivals in the next two months, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 48,283 new local COVID-19 cases, down from more than 50,000 in the previous few days. Taiwan on Wednesday last week introduced a plan to allow up to 25,000 arrivals per week as part of efforts to gradually reopen borders, which includes reducing mandatory quarantines for inbound travelers from seven to three days, followed by four days in “self-initiated epidemic prevention.” The quota covers inbound Taiwanese arrivals, businesspeople and migrant workers. Former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday said
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it is monitoring Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship movements near Taiwan, after the Japanese Ministry of Defense disclosed that Chinese vessels made a rare voyage between Yilan County and Japan’s Yonaguni. The Japanese ministry on Wednesday said that two Chinese navy ships on Tuesday diverted from their usual route of entering the Pacific Ocean via the Miyako Strait and for the first time traveled there between Yilan and Yonaguni. The Japan Self-Defense Forces said that it picked up the presence of China’s Type-056A Jiangdao-class corvette 220km north of Yonaguni at 9am on Tuesday. The
A slew of new measures are to take effect on Friday, including nationwide bring-your-own-cup discounts. The new rule requires chain beverage shops to offer discounts of at least NT$5 (US$0.17) to customers who bring their own cups, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said. The policy would apply to more than 50,000 chain retail locations, including beverage shops, convenience stores, fast-food restaurants and supermarkets. It aims to cut down on waste from single-use plastic cups, more than 2.2 billion of which were used in Taiwan in 2020, the agency said. For convenience, the EPA said it has asked retailers to display signs stating how
RSS