As Mainland China’s People’s Liberation Army launched blockade drills around Taiwan in darkness early on Monday, observers were watching the movements of the PLA aircraft carrier Liaoning operating east of the island.
Beijing’s military movements near the island come days after Beijing hit out at a defiant speech by the island’s leader William Lai Ching-te.
The Joint Sword-2024B drills are being conducted in areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait, aiming to test the PLA’s joint operation capabilities, said naval Senior Captain Li Xi, spokesman for the PLA Eastern Theatre Command.
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The exercise focused on sea- and air-combat readiness patrols, and the ability to blockade key ports and other areas, he said.
“It is stern deterrence to the separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces. It is a legitimate and necessary operation to safeguard the state sovereignty and integrity,” Li said in a statement.
Li added that this drill was started at night and early morning, and the training could turn to war at any time.
The exercise was announced by the command at 5am on Monday and includes operations from night into early morning. According to a video released by state broadcaster CCTV, PLA soldiers were mobilising at dawn while an aircraft took off during the night.
The report said PLA fighter jets and bombers departed from multiple airports in the southern mainland, crossing the Taiwan Strait to approach the island for joint training.
Additionally, the PLA’s Rocket Force moved to operational areas “overnight” and completed launch preparations, subsequently launching simulated strikes against designated targets, it said.
The drill started four days after Lai’s Double Tenth speech on Thursday in which he said the two sides “are not subordinate to each other” and Beijing had no authority to represent the island.
Double Tenth on October 10 has been celebrated in Taiwan since 1949, as it marked the anniversary of the start of the 1911 revolution that ended the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) and led to the founding of the Republic Of China.
Taiwan’s leader has delivered a speech on this date every year, an event closely watched in recent years as a platform for Taipei to send a message to Beijing and observers on cross-strait relations.
In his speech last week, Lai said the two sides of the strait should have equal status, and that he was committed to peace across the strait.
The United States said it was “seriously concerned” about the development. In a press statement on Sunday (US time), Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State, described the PLA’s actions as “unwarranted” and warned they “risk escalation”.
Miller urged Beijing to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the broader region. He reiterated the US’ commitment to its long-standing one-China policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three joint communiques and the six assurances.
Mainland China’s coastguard also announced on its website it was deploying four fleets to conduct a patrol around the island on Monday.
A map published at the same time showed the four fleets circling the main island of Taiwan.
In a separate statement it said the Fujian province coastguard would operate near Dongyin and Matsu islands with a focus on “verification, boarding inspections and control and expulsion drills”.
It said “the exercise aimed to test rapid response and emergency handling capabilities.”
Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Sunday the Liaoning carrier had sailed through waters near the Bashi Channel and continued towards the Western Pacific.
Lin Ying-yu, a professor of international relations and strategic studies at Tamkang University in New Taipei, said one purpose of the drills was to test the Liaoning after its major overhaul.
“Like the Shandong aircraft carrier, which conducted training in the Western Pacific during the 2023 Joint Sword exercise, the Liaoning is doing the same this time,” he said.
“In the past, the Liaoning had been criticised for its insufficient ability to handle continuous fighter take-offs and landings. The PLA hopes that after its major overhaul, the Liaoning will at least match the combat capabilities of the Shandong to conduct dual-carrier operations.”
Lin added that Taiwan could observe whether the remodelled Liaoning was capable of joint operations with the PLA’s tactical systems and whether it would engage in dual-carrier “anti-carrier, strike carrier” confrontation exercises like those seen in 2023 during drills in the Western Pacific.
In May, the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command conducted Joint Sword-2024A military drills three days after Lai’s inauguration speech, which Beijing denounced as a “confession of independence”.
The exercise lasted two days and was to punish “Taiwan separatists” and as a warning to “external forces”, according to the command. Mainland China’s coastguard also sent a fleet to waters east of Taiwan to conduct law enforcement drills during that exercise.
This time, the command has conducted the exercise in a total of six zones surrounding the island, according to a diagram released by CCTV.
Some parts of the zones in the most recent drill overlap slightly with the five-zone exercise in May. However, it also includes new areas in the Taiwan Strait, to the northeast of Keelung City and near Taitung, in the southeastern region of the island.
The Taiwanese defence ministry released a statement saying it strongly condemned the PLA’s irrational and provocative actions and that it would deploy appropriate forces to respond and defend the island.
In an X post on Monday morning, the ministry said 25 PLA aircraft, seven PLAN vessels and four official ships were detected operating around Taiwan until 8am on Monday, with 16 of the aircraft crossing the median line and entering Taiwan’s southwestern and eastern air defence identification zone (ADIZ).
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
On Sunday, a social media account affiliated with Beijing’s defence ministry published an opinion column blaming Lai for the division between Beijing and Taipei.
“Looking at [Lai’s] so-called Double Tenth speech – whether it is the hollow ‘goodwill’ shouted from across the strait or the deceptive ‘soft stance’ he tries to portray – none of it can change the essence of his advocacy for division and incitement of hostility and confrontation between the two sides of the strait,” it said.
The drill on Monday sought to send a message that the PLA would not allow a “deceptive” and “gradual” form of Taiwan independence, and that Lai’ s speech on Thursday was “extremely deceptive”, Fu Zhengnan, a commentator with the PLA’s Academy of Military Sciences, was quoted by Yuyuantantian, an account run by state run CCTV.
More from South China Morning Post:
- PLA keeps up air and sea pressure near Taiwan in wake of William Lai’s Double Tenth speech
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- Mainland China accuses Taiwanese leader William Lai of escalating hostility
- ‘Asian Nato’ calls, Taiwan moves: should Beijing worry as Japan’s Ishiba gets going?
- Taiwan leader’s ‘Double Tenth Day’ speech prompts rebuke from Beijing
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