China has performed military exercises around Taiwan with the largest number of naval vessels in almost a year – an action that occurs days after the United States promises to contain Beijing’s aggressiveness in the region.
The popular liberation army began maneuvers on Tuesday (1) “from multiple directions,” according to Senior SHI YI colonel in an official statement. Exercises include training of “attacks against maritime and terrestrial targets” and “blockade of key areas and sea routes to test the joint operations skills of troops”. According to Shi, land, naval, air and rocket forces participated.
The Taiwan Ministry of Defense reported that it has detected 19 Chinese ships-the largest number since the maneuvers conducted by China after the inauguration of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-Te in May last year. In another statement, the Taiwanese government also said it was monitoring the movements of the Shandong aircraft carrier in recent days.
These maneuvers are proof to the Trump government’s developing foreign policy, which has focused on containing Beijing ambitions in the East Asia, while pressuring Europe to invest more in defense to protect itself from Russia. In recent visits to Philippines and Japan, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth promised missile systems, troops and other resources to contain China. Hegseth also stated that the US would provide a “believable dissuasion” in Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan’s Strait.
The statements were well received in Taipei, which cautiously observes the Trump government question the support of Kiev, while maintaining a diplomatic approach with Moscow, invasive of Ukraine. President Donald Trump also caused concern by suggesting that Taiwan should pay the US for his protection and accuse the island of “stealing” American businesses in the semiconductor sector.
The maneuvers occur after Washington Post reports a secret US memo describing how the US Army should prevent a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan. The document, signed by Hegseth, would have circulated in the Pentagon, although Bloomberg News has not confirmed its content.
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For Ja Ian Chong, associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, several factors may have motivated the maneuvers, but the main objective would be to test “how far Beijing can go without faces major consequences.”
According to Chong, China’s goal is to “weaken confidence in US deterassion,” pressing governments such as Taiwan to give in to Beijing’s demands.
Turbulence in China
The exercises occur as the world’s largest army in number of troops faces corruption scandals. The US Department of Defense declared at the end of last year that investigations can make it difficult for Chinese Armed Forces to modernize. By repeatedly performing exercises around Taiwan, Beijing seeks to demonstrate that his troops are ready for any eventuality, despite the internal crisis.
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Since Lai’s inauguration, China has already performed at least six rounds of military exercises near the island. Beijing considers Taiwan – a democracy with 23 million inhabitants – part of its territory, which must be reinstated, even by force, if necessary.
Impact
Chinese pressure also included a cyber attack, as released by the Taiwan Ministry of Defense in a night report, although without detailing the targets. In addition, Chinese coastal guard ships were sighted near Taiwanese Islands.
Beijing maintains strong opposition to LAI, which he considers favorable to the formalization of Taiwan’s independence.
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China also reacts negatively to the measures adopted by it to contain Chinese influence on island’s military and government institutions.
Taiwan’s Office of Affairs in Beijing said on Tuesday that Lai’s approach serves to “provoke China unbridled.” “We will never tolerate this and we should counterattack and punish severely,” the agency said in a statement.
Despite the tense context, the Taiwanese markets reacted with relative calm. The Taiex index rose 2.8%, recovering from the fall of the previous day. The Taiwanese dollar retreated to 33,195 compared to the US dollar.
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Unlike previous exercises such as the so -called Joint Sword A and B held last year, China avoided giving official name to the latest maneuvers, possibly to normalize the activity and show that this is not an extraordinary event.
Jack Chen, director of the Defense Defense Vision Defense Group, said this change aims to reinforce the perception that China is prepared to move from actual combat exercises at any time.
For the first time, the Chinese army broadcast live maneuvers on social networks, presenting an anchor commenting on the exercises, martial soundtrack and images that appeared to show Kinmen Island, an advanced Taiwan post near the Chinese coast.
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