China launched its “biggest war games” this week around the island nation of Taiwan. On Tuesday, the second day of China’s largest military exercise, Beijing began a 10-hour live-fire exercise around the islet, according to Reuters. The military exercises were codenamed “Justice Mission 2025”.
Why were these military exercises started?
1. China has accused Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of pushing its separatist agenda.
A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said the People’s Liberation Army’s “Justice Mission 2025” exercise near the island of Taiwan “is a repressive and deterrent action against separatist forces seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ through military build-up.”
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Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said Taiwan’s independence “is incompatible with cross-strait peace.”
Chinese spokesmen described the exercises as “a necessary step to protect China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
2. Notably, the drills began 11 days after the US announced a record $11.1 billion arms package to Taiwan.
In a statement on Monday, the State Department pointed this out, saying that “Taiwan’s massive and desperate arms purchase further exposes their true nature as provocateurs, saboteurs of peace and warmongers”.
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Without naming the US, the Chinese ministry said: “Anyone who tries to arm Taiwan to contain China will only encourage the separatists and push the Taiwan Strait closer to the danger of armed conflict.”
At the same time, Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said that Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party authorities seeking “independence” by relying on outside forces “are doomed to failure, and that preventing reunification through military means is a dead end.”
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China emphasized that “the Taiwan issue is at the very core of China’s core interests.” It warned that anyone who crosses the border or makes provocations on the issue will face a firm response from China.
“All attempts to hold back China’s reunification will always fail,” the ministry said.
Trump downplays concerns
US President Donald Trump appeared to play down China’s latest maneuvers around Taiwan as the PLA began a second day of drills that included live-fire drills in response to a major US arms sale.
“I have a great relationship with President Xi (Jinping) and he hasn’t told me anything about it,” Trump told reporters at a news conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But “I certainly saw it, but he didn’t tell me anything about it. And I don’t believe he will,” Trump said.
Nothing bothers me, he said. “They’ve been doing naval exercises in this area (China) for 20 years — now people are taking it a little differently,” Trump said.
What is the real reason behind China’s military exercises?
China claims that Taiwan, a democratically-ruled island nation, is dividing, and has intensified military pressure around the island over the past five years.
Taiwan has rejected China’s claimed sovereignty, arguing that only its people can decide the island’s future. The Taiwanese people elect their own leaders.
Taiwan enjoys de facto independence, although most countries do not formally recognize it.
Taiwan maintains that the Republic of China is a sovereign state and that Beijing has no right to speak for or represent it, given that the People’s Republic of China has no say in how it chooses its leaders and has never ruled Taiwan.
But China says it will not renounce the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Any attack on Taiwan could ignite a wider regional war.
Beijing has offered Taiwan a “one country, two systems” model similar to Hong Kong, promising the city a high degree of autonomy, although no major political party in Taiwan supports it, Reuters reported.
