China’s military said Tuesday it had kicked off joint exercises involving its army, navy, air force and rocket force around Taiwan as a “stern warning,” days after US defense chief Pete Hegseth vowed to counter “China’s aggression” on his first visit to Asia.
The drills, which will see China’s armed forces “close in” on Taiwan from “multiple directions,” mainly focus on sea-air combat-readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, assault on maritime and ground targets, and blockade on key areas and sea lanes to test joint operations capabilities of China’s troops, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement on social media.
“It is a stern warning and forceful deterrence against ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity,” the statement added. 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.
Meanwhile, officials close to Trump have repeatedly emphasized the need for the US to focus its attention and resources on countering China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. For Taiwan, a democracy of some 23 million people, the drills are the latest reminder of the threat that comes from its giant Communist Party-run neighbor. China’s military said Tuesday it had kicked off joint exercises involving its army, navy, air force and rocket force around Taiwan as a “stern warning,” days after US defense chief Pete Hegseth vowed to counter “China’s aggression” on his first visit to Asia.
The drills, which will see China’s armed forces “close in” on Taiwan from “multiple directions,” mainly focus on sea-air combat-readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, assault on maritime and ground targets, and blockade on key areas and sea lanes to test joint operations capabilities of China’s troops, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement on social media.
“It is a stern warning and forceful deterrence against ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity,” the statement added. 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.
Meanwhile, officials close to Trump have repeatedly emphasized the need for the US to focus its attention and resources on countering China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. For Taiwan, a democracy of some 23 million people, the drills are the latest reminder of the threat that comes from its giant Communist Party-run neighbor.
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