China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite."
The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said.
Photo from Weibo
Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said.
The drills took place after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth left the region following visits to Japan and the Philippines, where he criticized China and said Japan was "indispensable" for tackling Chinese aggression.
A senior Taiwan security official, citing internal assessments, said that Beijing needed to avoid any "perceived confrontation" with Washington prior to the US-China trade talks, and thus Taiwan has become a pretext.
"Taiwan is their best excuse. That's why they chose to launch such military drills as soon as the US defense secretary left Asia," the official said.
In a video accompanying the Eastern Theater Command's announcement of the drills depicted Lai as cartoon bug held by a pair of chopsticks above a burning Taiwan.
"The focus is on exercises such as combat readiness patrols at sea and in the air, seizing comprehensive control, striking maritime and land targets, and imposing blockade controls on key areas and routes," the command said on its official WeChat social media account.
The Ministry of National Defense said in a statement that China's Shandong aircraft carrier group entered the nation's response area yesterday, adding that it had dispatched military aircraft and ships and activated land-based missile systems in response.
"The Chinese Communist Party has continued to increase its military activities around Taiwan and in the Indo-Pacific region ... and has become the biggest 'troublemaker' in the international community," the statement added.
China's military released a series of propaganda videos in quick succession after the drill announcement, depicting Chinese warships and fighter jets encircling Taiwan, Taipei being aimed at from above and military vehicles patrolling city streets.
A video of a poster accompanying the drills titled "Closing In," and showing Chinese forces surrounding the nation, was released on the Eastern Theater Command's Weibo.
This was followed by a video titled "Shell," depicting Lai as a green cartoon bug spawning parasites across the main island, on the command's WeChat page.
"Parasite poisoning Taiwan island. Parasite hollowing Island out. Parasite courting ultimate destruction," the animation said.
Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said such rhetoric was not conducive to peace and "shows their provocative character," when asked about Lai's cartoon depiction.
A third video, "Subdue Demons and Vanquish Evils," featured Sun Wukong (孫悟空), the magical monkey king from the Ming Dynasty epic Journey to the West as he is depicted in the Black Myth: Wukong hit video game.
It opens with the video's title flashing across the screen and the Chinese mythical warrior riding on clouds before cutting to footage of Chinese fighter jets.
"The joint exercise and training conducted by the Eastern Theater of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the vicinity of Taiwan Island is a resolute punishment for the Lai authorities' rampant 'independence' provocations," China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) said.
Koo told reporters the PLA should focus first on resolving its issues with corruption instead of destroying peace and stability in the region.
China's military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge over the past few years, which saw former Chinese minister of national defense Li Shangfu (李尚福) ousted in October last year.
China's Ministry of National Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Koo's remarks.
The American Institute in Taiwan said there is no justification for China's "irresponsible threats" and military pressure operations, and the US would continue to support Taiwan.
"China's escalating military intimidation tactics only serve to exacerbate tensions and undermine cross-strait peace and stability, and once again, China has shown that it is not a responsible actor and has no problem putting the region's security and prosperity at risk," a spokesperson said in a statement.
The Global Times, which is owned by the People's Daily newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, said the drill had not been given a code name to show that Chinese military forces surrounding Taiwan "has become a normal practice," citing Zhang Chi (張弛) of National Defense University.
"Through a series of exercises held in the Taiwan Strait in recent years, the PLA has strongly enhanced its ability to prepare for war and fight battles," the article on the paper's Weixin social media page added.
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