China blockades Taiwan by sea with military drills in a new escalation following President Lai's speech
The island's U.S.-backed armed forces declared high alert Monday in response to the People's Liberation Army's deployment around the island. The Beijing regime has strong claims of sovereignty over Taiwan.
Map of the locations of the Joint Sword-2024B military exercises around Taiwan.
The Chinese regime has deployed a massive military exercise, the second in five months, to blockade the island of Taiwan as a "warning." Xi Jinping’s government aims to send a strong message to the island, reinforcing its aspirations for sovereignty over the territory.
The exercises, dubbed Joint Sword 2024B, "test the joint operational capabilities of theater command troops," China said. It comes after Taiwanese President William Lai, who has strong pro-independence convictions, delivered a speech in which he vowed to resist against Chinese intentions to annex Taiwan as the end point of its "One China" policy. In reaction to the Chinese maneuvers, the Taiwanese president assured that he "will continue to protect the democratic and free constitutional system, safeguarding national security". William Lai was elected in 2024 and since then China has increased its pressure on the island.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense condemned China's "irrational and provocative behavior" and stated that it "dispatched appropriate forces to respond accordingly to protect freedom and democracy and defend the sovereignty" of Taiwan. The outlying islands in its territory are on "high alert," it stressed. The United States also condemned the maneuvers and called them an "unwarranted and at risk of escalation" move.
The Taiwanese government cabinet, based in Taipei, organized Monday a high-level security meeting to discuss the response to the "Chinese military threat," Joseph Wu, secretary general of the Taiwanese National Security Council, told AFP sources. Wu asserted that the Chinese maneuvers are "inconsistent with international law" and required prior warning.
One China Policy
In parallel, Taiwan developed its own state with the protection and support of the United States. After a period of military-led autocracy, Taipei has matured its own liberal parliamentary democracy in which two political groups take turns in the majorities. Democratic Progressive Party of William Lai and former President Tsai Ing-Wen, with liberal leanings maintains a nationalist agenda for Taiwan.
Against them, the historic Kuomintang party, which ruled for most of Taiwan's history, favors a rapprochement with China and, at some point, acceptance of the "One China" policy. The Kuomintang is highly vulnerable to Beijing's agents and faces accusations of being controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
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The maneuvers are being held in "areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island," said Capt. Li Xi, spokesman for the Chinese Army's eastern command. The exercises "focus on issues such as surveillance in preparation for air and sea combat, blockade of ports and key areas," as well as the "assault of sea and land targets," Li explained. These maneuvers, like the previous ones, are focused from the point of view of the complete invasion of the island of Taiwan by the Chinese Armed Forces.
Map of Taiwan and China
Maritime encirclement
According to what is known from official Chinese sources, the Beijing regime has deployed several vessels of its Navy and its Coast Guard in the waters surrounding the island of Taiwan. Taiwanese authorities specified that four formations of Chinese vessels were sighted, patrolling around the island but without entering its restricted waters.
Alongside this, Taipei announced Monday that a Chinese national was arrested following a possible "intrusion" on Kinmen, an island near the Chinese city of Xiamen, but did not link the case to the maneuvers.
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