The operation dubbed “Joint Sword” continues. China is carrying out the second day of military exercises around the island of Taiwan on Sunday, April 9, as part of a set of maneuvers scheduled until Monday. They aim to establish Chinese capabilities to “take control of the sea, airspace and information (…) in order to create deterrence and total encirclement” of Taiwan, Taiwan television said on Saturday. Chinese state.
These exercises, launched after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting in California on Wednesday with Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy, were strongly denounced by Taiwan, and the United States called on Beijing to “restraint”, ensuring to keep its communication channels with China “open”.
On Sunday, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense recalled having detected the presence around the island of nine ships and 71 military aircraft the day before. “The military is closely monitoring the situation” and has instructed its “planes, ships and land-based missile systems to respond accordingly”, he added. Destroyers, fast missile launchers, fighter planes, tankers and jammers are notably mobilized, according to Beijing.
China considers Taiwan (23 million inhabitants) as one of its provinces which it has not yet managed to reunify with the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
Live-fire exercises scheduled for Monday
The maneuvers “serve as a serious warning against collusion between separatist forces seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ and outside forces, as well as their provocative activities,” warned Chinese military spokesman Shi Yi.
Washington reiterated its call on Saturday to “not change the status quo.” “We are confident that we have sufficient resources and capabilities in the region to ensure peace and stability,” the State Department said.
Live-fire exercises will be held Monday in the Taiwan Strait near the coast of Fujian (east), the province facing the island, local maritime authorities also announced.
These exercises, which have an “operational” dimension, are intended to demonstrate that the Chinese army will be ready “if the provocations intensify” to “settle once and for all the question of Taiwan”, explains, to Agence France -Press (AFP), military expert Song Zhongping.
US military support
China views with displeasure the rapprochement in recent years between the Taiwanese authorities and the United States which, despite the absence of official relations, provides the island with substantial military support. Ms. Tsai on Saturday denounced China’s “authoritarian expansionism” and assured that Taiwan “will continue to work with the United States and other countries (…) to uphold the values ??of freedom and democracy”.
For Beijing, these military exercises are “a necessity” to “score points politically” with the Chinese population, James Char, a Chinese military expert at Nanyang University of Technology in Singapore, told AFP. However, an escalation of the same intensity as that of August 2022 seems a priori ruled out, according to Mr. Char who underlines that Beijing, which is trying to “warm up” its relations with Europe, has waited for the “end” of a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to launch his exercises.
Last summer, China engaged in unprecedented military maneuvers around Taiwan and fired missiles when Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who preceded Mr. McCarthy to the House roost, visited the island. The United States recognized the People’s Republic of China in 1979 and should theoretically have no official contact with the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the “one China principle” championed by Beijing.