INTERNATIONAL – Warships, fighter planes and a heavy atmosphere. Since Thursday, May 23, China has been surrounding Taiwan to test its ability to “ take power “. These impressive military maneuvers come after the swearing-in on Monday of Lai Ching-te, the new president of the autonomous island. His inauguration speech was perceived by China as a “ recognition of Taiwan’s independence “.
Beijing presented these military exercises on Thursday as a “severe punishment” against the “separatists” of the island which will end ” in the blood “. Their objective is to verify the “ability to seize power and joint strikes, as well as control key territories”said Li Xi, spokesperson for the Chinese army’s Eastern Theater Command, on Friday.
As you can see in our video at the top of the article, the maneuvers involve the army, navy, air force and rocket unit. They are due to last until Friday inclusive, but analysts warn that they could be extended or renewed soon.
According to state television CCTV, Chinese naval officers called on their Taiwanese counterparts not to “resist reunification by force”. An animated Chinese military graphic also showed a hail of missiles hitting key targets to the north, south and east of the island.
Isolate and demoralize the population
With these simulated attacks, the Chinese government seeks to “ demoralize the population and isolate them internationally “, explained Raymond Kuo, political scientist for an American think tank, to the Reuters news agency. However, this type of maneuver can “ have the opposite effect »and push the Taiwanese to support independence parties according to the international security expert.
Taiwan “ will defend the values of freedom and democracy”promised Thursday Lai Ching-te, described by Beijing as a “dangerous separatist” for his past statements in favor of the island’s independence. China considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces, which it has not yet succeeded in reunifying with its territory. In recent years, Beijing has also intensified its threats and political, economic and military pressure on Taiwan.
The UN has called for all parties to be avoided “refrain from any action that could aggravate tensions” and in Washington, a senior official who requested anonymity said the United States “watched very closely” the situation and called China “with restraint”.
The previous large-scale Chinese military exercises around Taiwan took place in August 2023 after a visit by Mr. Lai, then vice-president, to the United States. Beijing also launched maneuvers of historic scale in August 2022 after the visit to the island of Nancy Pelosi, then president of the American House of Representatives.
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