China's Army, Navy, Air Force and Rocket Force conducted large-scale joint military exercises around Taiwan on Monday. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) said these coercive drills were aimed at “a stern warning against the secessionist actions of 'Taiwan independence' forces.”
To emphasize this point, the exercise was named “Joint Sword-2024B” by the Chinese military. Joint Sword-2024A was a show of force that China launched after President William Lai Qingde took office in May.
People's Liberation Army claimed that The show of military power was “a legitimate and necessary operation to protect national sovereignty and national unity.”
Beijing's latest tantrum was apparently provoked by Lai's National Day speech in Taipei on Thursday. “We will keep our commitment to resist annexation and violations of our sovereignty,” Rai said in his speech.
Lai echoed this defiant statement in the calmest terms possible, vowing to maintain “the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” and cooperate with the Chinese government on issues of mutual interest, such as climate change and infectious diseases. said.
Despite this, Mr. Lai was adamant about maintaining the autonomy of his government, the Republic of China (ROC). His speeches always contained views that infuriated Beijing. While Taiwan National Day is the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1911, the young communist government logically claims that it is the “Republic of China” because the People's Republic of China (PRC) was not founded until 1949. I can't do that. Taiwan's “homeland”.
“The Republic of China may actually be the homeland of citizens of the People's Republic of China over the age of 75,” Lai pointed out.
“The Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not mutually dependent. Democracy and freedom flourish here. The People's Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan.”
For good measure, Lai said that if China really wanted to invade someone to restore China's “territorial integrity,” it would have to do so in order to take back the Manchurian territory given to it in the humiliating 1858 Patriotic Treaty. suggested that we should go to war with Russia.
This was too much for the Chinese government, which considers Mr. Lai's predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, a dangerous “separatist” and believes Mr. Lai is even worse.
After his National Day speech, China's Foreign Ministry accused Lai of being “strong-handed” and of having “sinister intentions to escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait for political gain.”
“No matter what Lai Ching-de's government says or does, it cannot change the objective fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same China, and China will not be able to stop the flow of history. ” “There will definitely be reunification, and there will be reunification in the end,” growled Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry.
China's state-owned Global Times There was no pretense that Operation Joint Sword-2024B was anything but an effort to bully Taiwan. quotation Li Xi, spokesperson for the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command, described the exercise simulating air combat, sea engagements, blockades of Taiwanese ports, and amphibious invasions of major ground targets in Taiwan.
Chen Binhua of the Beijing Taiwan Affairs Office said, “This exercise is a firm response to Mr. Lai Qingde's continued false fabrication of “Taiwan independence'' and propagation of separatist policies.'' He spoke loudly.
“We intend to strive for peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity and effort. However, we do not promise to renounce the use of force, and we will not leave any room for Taiwan's independence.” “No,” said Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Wu Qian.
China's exercises included: Liaoning province aircraft carrier group, appear Traveled to southern Taiwan by the Taiwan Defense Forces.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that “China's Liaoning aircraft carrier group has entered the waters near the Bashi Strait and is likely to advance into the Western Pacific Ocean.” The Bashi Strait separates Taiwan and the Philippines.
“The Republic of China's military monitored the situation and responded accordingly,” the Defense Ministry said.
“Taiwan's military is closely monitoring related activities using joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems and remains alert to respond if necessary,” the statement added.
China is currently 3 aircraft carriersof which Liaoning province The ship is the oldest and not the most powerful, but it is a refurbished Russian ship purchased from Ukraine by a Chinese tourism company in the late 1990s. of Liaoning province Originally used for technical testing and training, China has recently focused on the ship for coercive military exercises and displays of force in the Taiwan Strait, perhaps a direct link to its more advanced sibling. This seems to be to draw the spotlight away from the ship.
China's second airline shandong province This is a domestic ship that is still in operation today. Liaoning province and bigger shandong province It was docked This was held at the same base in the South China Sea during the last week of September, and provided a valuable opportunity to compare the results side by side through satellite images.
The third career Fujian province, That seems to be of more concern to naval analysts. much more advanced than shandong provincewhich could potentially compete with Western carriers. Other improvements include electromagnetic catapults for launching aircraft, similar to modern US aircraft carriers. Liaoning province and shandong province Launching an airplane with a “ski slope” ramp on the nose is much slower and more dangerous than a catapult launch.
of fujian province Currently receiving 4th sea trial. Each test cruise lasted longer than the previous one, suggesting that trials are progressing well and the carrier may be operational soon.
