China Launches War Games Around Taiwan As Island Vows To Defend Democracy
HuffPost
China's military moved army, naval, air force and artillery units around Taiwan on Monday for its "Justice Mission 2025" drills.
BEIJING/TAIPEI, Dec 29 (Reuters) - China’s military moved army, naval, air force and artillery units around Taiwan on Monday for its “Justice Mission 2025” drills, as the island vowed to defend democracy and mobilised troops to rehearse repelling a potential Chinese attack.
The Eastern Theatre Command announced the drills will involve live-fire exercises on Tuesday, in a statement containing a graphic demarcating five zones surrounding the island that will be under sea and air space restrictions for 10 hours from 8 a.m. (0000 GMT).
This marks China’s sixth major round of war games since 2022 after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the democratically governed island, and follows a rise in Chinese rhetoric over Beijing’s territorial claims after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
The exercises began 11 days after the U.S. announced $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever weapons package for the island, drawing a protest from China’s defence ministry and warnings the military would “take forceful measures” in response.
Analysts say Beijing’s drills increasingly blur the line between routine military training exercises and what could be stage-setting for an attack, a strategy intended to give the U.S. and its allies minimal warning of an assault.China’s military said it had deployed fighter jets, bombers, unmanned aerial vehicles, and long-range rockets, and would practice striking mobile land-based targets while simulating a coordinated attack on the island from multiple directions.“This (the drills) serves as a serious warning to ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces and external interference forces,” said Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theatre Command.Taiwan’s government condemned the drills. A presidential office spokesperson urged China not to misjudge the situation and undermine regional peace, and called on Beijing to immediately halt what they described as irresponsible provocations.
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