24 May 2024 , 06:22
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PLA says exercises launched in response to president’s inauguration will test capacity to ‘seize power, launch joint attacks and occupy key areas’
China has begun a second day of military drills targeting Taiwan, this time testing its military’s ability to “seize power”, in what it says is punishment for “separatist acts” after the inauguration of the island’s new president on Monday.
The exercises, which involve Chinese military units from the air force, rocket force, navy, army, and coast guard, were announced suddenly on Thursday morning, with maps showing five approximate target areas in the sea surrounding Taiwan’s main island. Other areas also targeted Taiwan’s offshore islands, which are close to the Chinese mainland.
China’s defence ministry said the drills on Friday were testing its military’s capability to “seize power” and occupy key areas, in line with Beijing’s ultimate goal of annexing Taiwan. Taiwan’s government and people reject the prospect of Chinese rule, but China’s ruler Xi Jinping has not ruled out the use of force to take the island. Western intelligence has claimed Xi has told the People’s Liberation Army to be capable of an invasion by 2027.
“Lai has deliberately incited hatred toward the mainland and escalated confrontation and hostility across the Strait,” it said.
In an editorial, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist party, the People’s Daily, said it was a shared belief among Chinese people that the territory of the nation cannot be divided, the country cannot be thrown into chaos and its people cannot be separated.
A conflict over Taiwan would be catastrophic, and likely involve other countries in the region, and beyond. In response to the drills, representatives from Japan, the US, South Korea, and Australia called for calm. Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, warned that “the risk of an accident, and potential escalation, is growing”.
The European Union said it has “a direct interest in the preservation of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait”, and opposed “any unilateral actions that change the status quo by force or coercion”.
A spokesperson for UN secretary general António Guterres said they were following developments in the Taiwan Strait, and urged “relevant parties to refrain from acts that could escalate tensions in the region”.