VIDEO: Shells fly upward in the Taiwan Strait as the Beijing military announces “long-range live ammunition firing” in the area.
China’s exercises are the largest ever to take place around Taiwan. pic.twitter.com/yzRMo0A3KW
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 4, 2022
According to a press release from the ministry, the “Communist Party” of China launched “several Dongfeng missiles into the waters northeast and southwest of Taiwan from 13:56 (ss: local time; 08:56 Greek time)”.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said it had completed conventional missile launches and added that control of the areas where they were conducted has now been lifted.
In response, Beijing launched large-scale military exercises in six zones around Taiwan at noon (local time; 0700 Greek time) on busy maritime trade routes.
On Pingtan, a Chinese island near one of the school zones, military helicopters flew in the direction of Taiwan, AFP found out. The Taiwanese military, for its part, said it was “preparing for war” although it “does not seek war.”
Ladies and gentlemen, Chinese military exercises. pic.twitter.com/6vd7zVz1jL
— Maria Dubovikova (@politblogme) August 4, 2022
According to the Chinese newspaper Global Times, citing military analysts, the exercise, which began today, is “unprecedented” in scope, and the missiles will fly over Taiwan for the first time. “For the first time” the Chinese military will launch rockets and use live fire in the Taiwan Strait, according to a newspaper known for its nationalist tone.
“Blocking” Taiwan
Today’s gyms are being held in a number of fields around Taiwan – in some cases as little as 20 kilometers from its shores – and will continue for three more days, until Sunday.
“If the Taiwanese forces intentionally make contact (ss: with the Chinese military) and even fire a rifle by mistake, the (Chinese military) will vigorously retaliate, and it is the Taiwanese side” that will be held accountable and “everything will suffer.” consequences,” a source close to the Chinese military told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The island’s authorities condemned the high schools as a threat to the security of East Asia.
Urgent: Following Pelosi’s visit, Chinese military conducts long-range live-fire exercises in designated areas in eastern Taiwan Strait pic.twitter.com/sdXXu3Kktl
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 4, 2022
“Some of the Chinese high schools are invading (…) Taiwan’s territorial waters,” said Sun Li-fang, a spokesman for Taiwan’s defense ministry, calling China’s actions “absurd” and “challenging the international order.”
The ministry said the Taiwanese military fired a missile on Wednesday night to shoot down a UAV flying over Kinmen Island, just 10 kilometers from mainland China’s Xiamen city. He did not specify what kind of UAV it was and where it was flying from. For Beijing, these gyms – like others on a more limited scale in recent days – are a “necessary and legitimate measure” in the wake of Pelosi’s visit.
“The United States is engaged in provocations, and China is their victim. China is in a state of legitimate defense,” said Hua Chunying, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The exercise aims to simulate a “blockade” of the island and includes “attacks against targets at sea, strikes against targets on the ground and control of airspace,” the official Xinhua news agency summarized.
Although the scenario of an invasion of Taiwan with 23 million people was considered unlikely, the chances increased with the election of incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016.
The latter belongs to a faction that advocates a formal declaration of independence and, unlike the previous government, refuses to accept the position that the island and the mainland belong to “the same China.”
“Pure scaling”
Visits by foreign officials and parliamentarians have increased in recent years, angering Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who wants to project the image of a leader who does not bargain over issues of national sovereignty, has responded by seeking to further isolate Taiwan and putting increasing military pressure on the island.
As a result, the Taiwan Strait has become a theater of dangerous tension between Washington, Taipei and Beijing, forced to feign intransigence during this year’s Communist Party convention.
This congress, which will take place in October, is expected to – short of the flood – Xi Jinping to be re-elected as head of the party and state for a third consecutive term.
China, however, does not intend to drag out the current situation, according to experts who spoke with AFP.
The possibility of a “random war” is “the last thing Xi Jinping wants” ahead of the CCP Congress, said Titus Chen, a professor of political science at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan.
Amanda Xiao, China analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, notes, however, that the reopening of high schools today represents “a clear escalation in relation to the norm of Chinese military activity around Taiwan and in relation to the most recent crisis in the Taiwan Strait in 1995-1996. .”.
By “acting in this way,” Beijing sends a signal that it “rejects any idea of national sovereignty” from the Taiwanese authorities, he adds.
with information from Reuters, AFP, APE-MPE
Source: Kathimerini
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