China’s military drills around Taiwan this week were aimed at testing the US’ response and strategic bottom line ahead of a potential Washington-Beijing summit, rather than the stated goal of deterring “Taiwanese independence” forces, academics said.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command on Tuesday announced it had launched a new round of exercises around Taiwan using army, navy, air and rocket forces to “close in” on the nation from “multiple directions.”
Last night the PLA announced it had concluded the two days of drills.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said the drills were intended as “a stern warning” to “Taiwanese independence” separatist forces, and would serve as “a resolute punishment” for what it called the “reckless provocations to seek independence” by the administration of President William Lai (賴清德).
Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), an assistant professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, said the exercises, coming just after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited Japan, were aimed at the US.
During his first trip to Japan after taking office, Hegseth met with Japanese Minister of National Defense Gen Nakatani in Tokyo, where they discussed security issues across the Strait.
“The ministers took note of activities by the PLA including the military situation around Taiwan, and emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” an English-language news release issued by the Japanese Ministry of Defense said.
Despite its rhetoric of “opposing Taiwanese independence” as the reason for launching the drills, China’s decision to start them right after Hegseth’s departure was about testing the US’ bottom line and response regarding security issues across the Strait, Lin said.
Beijing also wanted to understand US President Donald Trump’s stance on the issue, with the aim of gauging the US strategic position ahead of a potential summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), he said.
Echoing Lin, Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), director of the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources at the Taiwan military-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the drills were aimed at expressing political dissatisfaction toward Washington.
That dissatisfaction stemmed from a Washington Post report published on Saturday last week that said an internal guidance memo signed by Hegseth had reoriented the US military to focus on deterring a potential seizure of Taiwan by China, Su said.
While the PLA’s surprise drills were primarily intended as a message to the US, they might also serve as internal propaganda in China, he said.
The exercises could also be seen as a response to Lai’s speech on March 13, in which he designated China a “foreign adversary” and announced 17 strategies to counter Beijing’s coercion of Taiwan, he said.
Chieh Chung (揭仲), a research fellow at the Association of Strategic Foresight, said the Lai administration was directly named in statements and in videos on the drills by the TAO and the PLA, adding that such direct references showed that the drills could be seen as a response to Lai.
The criticism and the drills could be interpreted as signs that Beijing might be using Lai’s remarks as a pretext to raise tensions across the Strait ahead of a potential Xi-Trump summit, in a bid to gain leverage or create opportunities for negotiation with the Trump administration, Chieh said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS