[🇨🇳] China-Taiwan Feud

[Saif]

Any drills around Taiwan ‘decided by us alone’

China’s defence ministry said yesterday that any drills it may hold around Taiwan “are decided by us alone”, as Taipei announced the apparent end of massive military exercises not formally declared by Beijing.

www.thedailystar.net

Any drills around Taiwan ‘decided by us alone’
Says China’s defence ministry

China's defence ministry said yesterday that any drills it may hold around Taiwan "are decided by us alone", as Taipei announced the apparent end of massive military exercises not formally declared by Beijing.

Taiwanese authorities said this week that Beijing was holding its biggest maritime drills in years, deploying dozens of warships and coast guard vessels in an area stretching from near the southern islands of Japan to the South China Sea.

Hsieh Ching-chin, deputy director general of Taiwan's coast guard, said yesterday that the ships had returned to China, adding that Taipei considered the manoeuvres to be "over".

Asked about the alleged drills yesterday, Wu Qian, a spokesman for Beijing's defence ministry, did not confirm whether they had taken place.

But he said that "whether or not we hold exercises, and when we hold them, are decided by us alone, based on our own needs and the circumstances of our struggle".

"Safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, and the common interests of compatriots across the Taiwan Strait are the (military's) sacred duties," Wu said.

"No matter whether it holds exercises, the People's Liberation Army will not be absent or soft-hearted when it comes to striking down (Taiwanese) 'independence' and pushing for unification," he said, referring to the Chinese armed forces.

Any effort by Taipei to achieve independence "will inevitably be strictly punished and are doomed to failure", Wu said.​

 

[Saif]

China holds ‘shooting’ drills

China’s military yesterday held “shooting training” off Taiwan’s southwest coast in a move Taipei described as provocative and dangerous, while a senior Chinese leader vowed unswerving efforts to bring the island under Beijing’s control.

www.thedailystar.net

China holds ‘shooting’ drills
Vows ‘reunification’ push; Taipei sends forces to keep watch

China's military yesterday held "shooting training" off Taiwan's southwest coast in a move Taipei described as provocative and dangerous, while a senior Chinese leader vowed unswerving efforts to bring the island under Beijing's control.

Democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has repeatedly complained of Chinese military activities, including several rounds of full-scale war games during the past three years.

Shortly before 9:00 am, Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement, it had detected 32 Chinese military aircraft carrying out a "joint combat readiness drill" with Chinese warships in the Taiwan Strait area.

"During this period it even blatantly violated international practice by setting up a drills area in waters about 40 nautical miles (74 km) off the coast ... without prior warning, claiming that it would carry out 'shooting training'," the ministry added.

Taiwan's major southwestern population centres of Kaohsiung and Pingtung are both home to important naval and air bases. Kaohsiung is also home to Taiwan's largest port, a busy hub for global shipping.

The exercises endanger the safety of international flights and shipping and are a "blatant provocation" to regional peace and stability, the ministry said, adding that it had dispatched its own forces to keep watch.

There was no immediate confirmation from China that it was carrying out new drills around Taiwan and its defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

China's other recent military activity in the region, such as that off Australia's coast, are "proof that China is the only, and the greatest, threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific," Taiwan's ministry said.

China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its rule, and has denounced both President Lai Ching-te as a "separatist", and the United States for its support for Taiwan. Earlier yesterday, the ruling Communist Party's leader, Wang Huning, had called this week for greater effort in the cause of Chinese "reunification".​

 

[Saif]

China launches military drills around Taiwan, calls its president a ‘parasite’

China’s military said it had begun joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to “serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence”, calling Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-Te a “parasite”.

www.thedailystar.net

China launches military drills around Taiwan, calls its president a ‘parasite’

Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong is seen in this screenshot taken from a video released by the Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) on April 1, 2025. Photo taken from Reuters

China's military on Tuesday said it had begun joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence", calling Taiwan's President Lai Ching-Te a "parasite".

The exercises around the democratically governed island, which China views as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring under its control, come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month.

China detests Lai as a "separatist," and in a video accompanying the Eastern Theater Command's announcement of the drills depicted him 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 Eastern Theater Command said on its official WeChat social media account.

Taiwan's Defence Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that China's Shandong aircraft carrier group had entered the island's response area on Monday, 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.

'CLOSING IN'

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 island, was released on the Eastern Theater Command's Weibo.

This was followed by a video titled "Shell", depicting president Lai as a green cartoon bug spawning parasites across the island, on the Eastern Theater Command's WeChat page.

"Parasite poisoning Taiwan island. Parasite hollowing Island out. Parasite courting ultimate destruction," the animation said.

Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo 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, 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 Ching-Te authorities' rampant 'independence' provocations," said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office.

Taiwan's 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 Defence Minister Li Shangfu ousted in October 2024.

China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Koo's remarks.

The Global Times, which is owned by the People's Daily newspaper of the governing Chinese Communist Party, said the drill had not been given a code name to show that Chinese military forces surrounding the island "has become a normal practice," citing Zhang Chi of National Defence 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.​

 

[Saif]

China deployed 2 aircraft carrier groups, dozens of ships: Taiwan

China deployed two aircraft carrier groups and dozens of ships in waters north and south of Taiwan last month, a Taiwanese security official said Monday, as Beijing keeps up military pressure on the self-ruled island.

www.newagebd.net

China deployed 2 aircraft carrier groups, dozens of ships: Taiwan
Agence France-Presse . Taipei, Taiwan 02 June, 2025, 22:24

China deployed two aircraft carrier groups and dozens of ships in waters north and south of Taiwan last month, a Taiwanese security official said Monday, as Beijing keeps up military pressure on the self-ruled island.

Up to 70 Chinese ships, including navy vessels, were monitored from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea from May 1-27, a security official said on the condition of anonymity.

Beijing has ramped up the deployment of fighter jets and warships around Taiwan in recent years as it pressures Taipei to accept its claims of sovereignty over the island.

China has refused to rule out using force to bring Taiwan under its control, leaving the island to face the constant threat of invasion.

‘Its military actions and grey-zone activities have included large-scale deployments across the entire island chain, involving comprehensive maximum pressure,’ the security official said in remarks released Monday.

‘On average, there have been between 50 to 70 naval vessels and government ships as well as hundreds of sorties by various military aircraft continuously conducting harassment operations.’

Some of the ships passed through the Miyako Strait to the Western Pacific Ocean for ‘long-distance training, including combined air-sea exercises’, the official said.

Another 30 Chinese vessels with no name, documentation or port of registry were detected near Taiwan’s Penghu archipelago in the Taiwan Strait on May 19 and had been ‘deliberately sent to harass’, the official said.

And a total of 75 Chinese aircraft were involved in three ‘combat readiness patrols’ near the island during the month, Taiwan’s defence ministry figures show.

Asia-Pacific’s so-called first island chain links Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines, while the Yellow Sea is west of South Korea — all partners of the United States and critical to its influence in the region.

The Taiwanese security official said China’s activities in May were ‘more provocative than previously observed’.

In one incident, Tokyo and Beijing exchanged diplomatic protests each accusing the other of ‘violating’ national airspace, after a Chinese helicopter and coast guard vessels faced off with a Japanese aircraft around disputed islands.

The Chinese actions were a demonstration of ‘military expansion’ and were aimed at controlling the ‘entire island chain and improving their capabilities’, the official said.

China’s deployment coincided with Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te’s speech on May 20 marking his first year in office and came ahead of an annual security forum in Singapore at the weekend.

US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth told the Shangri-La Dialogue that China was ‘credibly preparing’ to use military force to upend the balance of power in Asia.

Beijing, which did not send its defence minister Dong Jun to the summit, warned Washington ‘should not play with fire’.

‘It felt like they were in a state where they could announce something at any moment, trying to seize on some opportunity or excuse to act,’ the Taiwanese official said of the Chinese.

China has carried out several large-scale military drills around Taiwan since Lai took office.​