China has intensified its military exercises around Taiwan as a clear show of strength and political stance against separatist movements on the island. The analysis was carried out by Marcus Vinícius de Freitas, professor of China Foreign Affairs, during his participation in the program WW.
According to Freitas, the Beijing government sends three main messages with this. “Firstly, it is a demonstration for the population and local political parties. The Chinese position is that it is a province of China and will eventually return to China,” he explained.
The expert highlighted that the second message is related to the Japanese Prime Minister’s recent statements. “Japan has always had a historical stance of not seeking weapons, a constitutional prohibition in the sense of not having very intense military action due to all the blockades that were placed after the Second World War”, contextualized Freitas.
According to the professor, Takaishi’s statement that Japan could become militarily involved in the event of a conflict in the region “created a huge level of dissatisfaction in Beijing, because all Japanese prime ministers have never been in that direction or in that argument.”
Tension with the United States
The third message is directed at the United States, especially after the trade agreement reached in Korea. “This also creates irritability in Beijing, because it sees the United States selling, which is an affront to China in the sense of wanting to transform the country into a new Ukraine,” said the expert.
Chinese military exercises therefore represent a strategic response to geopolitical movements in the region, reinforcing Beijing’s position that it is an integral part of Chinese territory and signaling its willingness to react to any attempt at independence on the island.
