China organized the military exercises on the North, South and East of Taiwan coasts on Tuesday as a “severe warning” against separatism and called the Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te “parasite” when Taiwan sent warships to respond to the China Navy that approached his banks.
The exercises, which China has not formally appointed unlike last year’s war games, are occurring after an increase in Chinese rhetoric against Lai and follow the steps of the United States Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, in which Beijing repeatedly criticized.
China’s military deployed ships, airplanes and artillery to practice the blockade of the island, blows to land and sea objectives, and aerial interception to “prove the coordination of the forces in combat,” said Beijing’s Eastern Theater Command in a statement.
Last May, three days after the inauguration of LAI, the Chinese forces organized war games to simulate the seizure of the total control of the west areas of the so -called first island chain and performed living fire missile exercises.
China considers that Taiwan governed democratically is its own territory and calls LAI a “separatist”. In a video that accompanies its announcement, the Eastern Theater command called it a “parasite” in English and described it as a green insect sustained by sticks on a taiwan in flames.
The Taiwan government condemned the exercises, and the presidential office said that China was “widely recognized by the international community as a uproar” and that the government has the confidence and the ability to defend itself.
The Taiwan government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty statements, saying that only the people of the island can decide their future.
Two senior Taiwan officials said Reuters That more than 10 Chinese military ships had approached the 24 nautical miles (44 kilometers) of Taiwan, an adjoining zone and Taiwan sent their own warships to respond.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said he had not detected any living fire by the Chinese army, but at least 71 Chinese military planes and 13 ships of the Navy were involved. He added that he did not know when the exercises would end.
Ministry spokesman Sun Li-Fang said that Taiwan’s armed forces had raised their level of preparation to ensure that China does not “turn the exercises into combat” and “throw a sudden attack against us.”
China’s Foreign Ministry said the exercises “are legitimate and necessary actions to defend national sovereignty and safeguard national unity.”
“China’s reunification is an unstoppable trend, it will happen and should happen,” said Guo Jiakun, spokesman, at a regular press conference today.
The Taiwan stock market touched the increase in tensions, with the reference index by closing 2.8 percent today.
Taiwan dispatches war ships
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said the Shandong China Shandong group had entered the island’s response area on Monday, adding that it had sent military airplanes and ships and activated terrestrial missile systems in response.
The exercises took place after Hegesh left the region after visits to Japan and the Philippines, where he criticized China and said that Japan was “indispensable” to address Chinese aggression.
A senior Taiwan security official said ReutersCiting internal evaluations, which Beijing needed to avoid any “perceived confrontation” with Washington before commercial conversations between the United States and China and, therefore, Taiwan has become a pretext.
“Taiwan is his best excuse. That is why they chose to launch such military exercises as soon as the United States Secretary of Defense left Asia,” said the official.
The de facto embassy of the United States, the American Institute in Taiwan, said that the United States would continue to support the island.
“Once again, China has shown that he is not a responsible actor and has no problem putting at risk the safety and prosperity of the region,” said a spokesman in a statement.
‘Closing’
The Chinese army launched a series of propaganda videos in rapid succession after the announcement of exercises, which represents Chinese warships and combat planes that surround Taiwan, Taipei directed from above and a flood of missiles firing to heaven before exploiting their goals.
A video of a poster that accompanies the exercises entitled “Closing” and showing the Chinese forces that surround the island, launched in Weibo of the Eastern Theater Command.
This was followed by a video entitled “Shell”, which represents President Lai as a green bicher of the parasites that generate parasites on the island, on the Wechat page of the Teatro del Este command.
“Training of the parasite on the island of Taiwan. Parasite of the empty island. The parasite courting the final destruction,” said the animation.
Taiwan defense minister, Wellington Koo, said such rhetoric was not conducive to peace and “shows its provocative character.”
A third video, “SutDue Demons and Vanquish Evils,” he presented Sun Wukong, the magical monkey king of the Ming Dynasty “Journey to the West”, since it is shown in the video game “Black Myth: Wukong”.
It opens with the video title through the screen and the Chinese mythical warrior traveling in clouds before cutting the images of Chinese combat planes.
A fourth poster, later launched in the day and titled “Moving progress”, had the Chinese characters of its title that covered the island.
Taiwan Koo told journalists that the popular liberation army (PLA) should first focus on solving their problems with corruption instead of destroying peace and stability in the region.
The Chinese army has suffered a radical anti -corruption purge in recent years, which saw former Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu expelled in October 2024.
The China Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comments on Koo’s comments.
He Global timeswhich is owned by the People’s Daily The newspaper of the Chinese Government Party said that the year had not been given a code to show that the Chinese military forces surrounding the island “have become a normal practice,” citing Zhang Chi of the University of National Defense.
“Through a series of exercises held in the Taiwan Strait in recent years, the PLA has strongly improved its ability to prepare for war and fight battles,” the article added on the Weixin social media page of the article.
XI says that China and India should strengthen ties in ‘dragon elephant tango’
Separately, Chinese President Xi Jinping, told Indian President Drugupadi Murmu that the two countries should work more together, saying that their relationship should take the form of a “tango of the dragon elephant”, a dance among its emblematic animals.
The Chinese and Indian presidents exchanged congratulations on Tuesday, the 75th anniversary of the beginning of their diplomatic ties, as tensions are facilitated after a 2020 clash between their troops along its shared border in the Himalayas.
XI said that neighbors should find ways to coexist peacefully and that it was ready to deepen communication and coordination in the main international issues, and jointly safeguard peace in border areas.
