China Military Drills Around Taiwan
Kanako Mita and Sawako Utsumi
Modern Tokyo Times
China issued a “stern warning” to separatists in Taiwan by launching a military blockade of this island.
Taiwan is democratic and free. However, to China, Taiwan is deemed an integral part of the territory of China. Hence, in history, a fine balance was understood by the Communist Party in China and the political elites in Taiwan. However, in recent times, growing voices are being heard in Taiwan, where they seek to end the shackles of China and become independent.
France 24 reports, “China sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for drills Beijing said were aimed at practising a blockade of the self-ruled island.”
Recently, the independent-minded President Lai Ching-Te of Taiwan condemned China strongly.
He also reiterated that China is a “foreign hostile force” to the people of Taiwan.
The Eastern Theatre Command of China said the military exercises are based on “… combat readiness patrols at sea and in the air, seizing comprehensive control, striking maritime and land targets and imposing blockade controls on key areas and routes.”
Taiwan said: “The Chinese Communist Party has continued to increase its military activities around Taiwan and in the Indo-Pacific region… and has become the biggest ‘troublemaker’ in the international community.”
Last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said, “The US keeps saying that territorial sovereignty must be respected, but on the Taiwan question, the US has been walking on the edge and pushing the envelope. The US has broken its own political commitments and has been selling sophisticated weapons to China’s Taiwan region. The US says there’s desire for peace to prevail, yet it has waged wars and stoked confrontation around the world. The US says it’s important to respect and uphold the international order, yet it has slapped massive unilateral illegal sanctions and put its domestic laws above international law. The US says competition must be fair, yet it has been cracking down on foreign companies by using all kinds of state apparatus and defying international trade rules.”
Lee Jay Walker (Modern Tokyo Times analyst) says, “China and Taiwan have coexisted and traded enormously with each other for many decades. Henceforth, rather than both militaries being fixated on the convulsions of history, it is high time that China tolerated greater international freedoms for Taiwan. Similarly, Taiwan needs to understand China’s concern about America’s containment policy of China, which is supported by other nations in the Quad Group and AUKUS.”
CNN reports, “China’s latest military exercises come as Taiwan is looking on nervously as US President Donald Trump transforms Washington’s global relationships with his mercantilist “America First” foreign policy, discarding decades-old guarantees towards Europe and pushing long-standing Asian allies and partners to pay more for US protection.”
China and Taiwan need to reach out to each other – especially given events between the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
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