Hong Kong-the Chinese army made large-scale drills around Taiwan on Tuesday in what he said it was a “severe warning” to the pro-independence forces on the island claimed by Beijing, as a “parasite” called the president of Taiwan.
The Taiwan government condemned the exercises, in which the Chinese army, the navy, the air and the rocket forces closed in Taiwan from multiple directions, according to the China Popular Liberation Army (PLA). No living fire has been informed.
Tensions have intensified since last month, when the president of Taiwan, Lai Ching-you described China as a “foreign hostile force” and proposed 17 measures to counteract Beijing’s threats, which has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its unification goal.
Beijing has rejected Lai conversations offers, who says that only 23 million people on the island can decide their future.
The Chinese exercises were accompanied by the launch of multiple images and videos of propaganda. A cartoon video titled “Shell” represents Lai, whom Beijing calls a “separatist” and “uprising”, as a “parasite” sustained by a couple of chopsticks on a taiwan in flames.
“Parasites poisoning on the island of Taiwan. Parasite of the empty island. Parasite courting the final destruction,” says the text of the video.
A poster entitled “Close in” shows Chinese ships and airplanes that surround Taiwan, while a video called “Sutdu Demons and Vanquish Malks” presents King Monkey of the Chinese epic “Journey to the West.”
The China Taiwan Affairs Office described military drills as a “punishment resolved by the reckless provocations” of the LAI Administration.
“Pursuing ‘Independence of Taiwan’ means pushing the people of Taiwan to a dangerous war situation,” said spokesman Zhu Fenglian in an informative session in Beijing on Tuesday. “We will not allow any person or force to separate Taiwan from China.”
A spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command of Pla called the exercises a “legitimate and necessary” action to safeguard China’s sovereignty.
“These drills focus mainly on the patrols of preparation for sea air, the joint seizure of integral superiority, assault on maritime and land objectives, and blockade in key areas and marine lanes,” said spokesman, Shi Yi, in a statement on Tuesday.
The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense said 19 ships from the Chinese Navy around Taiwan were detected in 24 hours to 6 am, local time on Tuesday (6 pm on Monday ET), and added that it has been tracking the first Shandong aircraft in China from the country since Saturday.
“We firmly condemn the irrational provocations of the RPC,” he said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to the official name of China, the People’s Republic of China. “We firmly oppose the actions of Pla that undermine regional peace.”
The Taiwan army has activated airplanes, marine ships and land missile systems in response to Chinese exercises, the ministry added.
Experts say that the exercises are also destined to send a message to President Donald Trump in the midst of Beijing concerns that the United States can increase security aid to Taiwan. Although the United States does not have official ties with Taiwan, an autonomous democracy, it is the most important international sponsor of the island and is subject to the law to provide defensive weapons.
The exercises took place two days after Pete Hegseth concluded his first trip to Asia as Secretary of Defense. During his visit to the American allies of the Philippines and Japan, Hegseth criticized China’s growing aggression in the region and called Japan an “indispensable couple” when deter.
Taiwan’s defense minister, Wellington Koo, said Tuesday that Beijing was an “obvious uprising” that interrupted peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and that the rhetoric of the “parasite” completely demonstrated the provocation of Beijing.
He told reporters that the Chinese army should focus on addressing internal corruption instead of maintaining drills in the region. Last year, Beijing shot two Former Defense Ministers in the midst of an anti -corruption campaign in his army.
The Taiwan continent affairs council condemned Chinese exercises, urging Beijing to “immediately cease irrational provocative actions.”
China’s “militaristic provocations not only increase tensions in the Taiwan Strait, but also severely undermine regional peace and stability and threaten global security,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Although the Taiwanese authorities see Beijing as a serious threat, most people on the island believe that China is “unlikely or very unlikely” to invade in the next five years, according to a survey published last year by the main group of Taiwan military experts.
