China launches military exercises around Taiwan

China on Monday launched new military exercises off the coast of Taiwan in what it described as “punishment” for a speech given by its president William Lai, in which he vowed to “resist annexation” or “interference in our sovereignty”.

China claims Taiwan as its own island and its president Xi Jinping has vowed to take it by force if necessary.

Taiwan said it found 34 naval vessels and 125 aircraft grounded around the island on Monday.

Maps published by Chinese state media show that the forces are located around the entire island.

The Chinese military said the ongoing drills involved all wings of the People’s Liberation Army, and were designed to simulate an attack on Taiwan by land, sea and air.

In response, Taiwan’s President William Lai said some of the island’s military have been deployed to monitor the situation and “hold their positions”.

Taiwan’s airports and seaports continued to operate as normal.

A previous statement by Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense condemned the Chinese move and said that its priority was to avoid direct confrontations that could escalate tensions. In addition, the outer islands were put on high alert.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it had simulated military attacks and blockades of ports, and described Taiwan’s independence as “incompatible” with peace in the region.

A post by the Chinese coast guard on its Weibo account later noted that the standby line was in cardiac arrest.

China has held several large-scale military exercises off the coast of Taiwan since 2022 and its warplanes regularly enter Taiwan’s airspace.

The latest exercise has been dubbed Joint Sword 2024-B by Beijing and has been widely anticipated since May, when exercises with the same name and officially labeled as part A are being held.

This project, which China has described as the biggest yet, coincided with the inauguration of President Lai, who has long been seen by Beijing as a “conflict” who represents Taiwan’s independence.

His latest comments, which he made on Taiwan’s national day, were criticized by China, which said he was fueling tensions with “bad intentions”.

But while these tests were widely expected, when you look at the deployment and how close Chinese ships and aircraft are to Taiwan – and the fiery rhetoric – this is very aggressive behavior.

In any other context, this would seem like a dramatic escalation – but against a background of already very high tensions.

The United States responded that there was no reason to exercise after Lai’s “normal” speech, and that China should refrain from other actions that could endanger peace and stability in the region.

The most recent history of Chinese military intimidation in Taiwan dates back to 1996, after Taiwan held its first direct presidential election. China declared several areas around Taiwan closed, and fired short-range ballistic missiles at those areas on the north and south coasts.

US President Bill Clinton quietly moved US Navy troops to the Taiwan strait to show Beijing that the US will prevent an attack on the island.

Tensions declined significantly between 2008 and 2016 – until the leader of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen was elected president. China views the DPP as a staunch pro-independence party, and has responded by cutting off all direct communications with the Taipei government.

That situation has remained ever since.

At the end of July 2022 the US house speaker Nancy Pelosi flew to Taipei – which was the first time a sitting house speaker had visited the island since 1996. Pelosi’s visit and her outspoken support for Taiwan were seen by Beijing as a major provocation – the closest to official recognition of the government here by the US’s most senior diplomat.

It responded with fury – holding two days of exercises and for the first time flying ballistic missiles over the island and into the Pacific Ocean.