China claimed its armed forces conducted unprecedented combined air and naval military drills in six locations surrounding Taiwan on Thursday, to penalise the republic for hosting US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. There was no early evidence of People’s Liberation Army manoeuvres in Taiwan, but Taipei issued a flight alert advising pilots to avoid a region east of the nation. The Taiwanese administration accused Beijing of attempting to alter the region’s military status quo and said it was ready for the consequences of the drills. This week, Pelosi became the first US House Speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years, as part of a larger Asia tour in which she reaffirmed “ironclad” support for the country’s democratically elected government.
Beijing, which accused Pelosi of breaching its claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, waited for her to leave the island for South Korea on Wednesday before beginning the drills. Analysts said the postponement helped prevent imminent conflicts with the US, but the drills were projected to be substantially larger, more intense, and more intricate than those staged during the previous Taiwan Strait crisis 26 years ago. China has long threatened to use force if Taipei refuses to submit indefinitely to Chinese authority or if a foreign power interferes with its claim. The drills might constitute a blockade of a country whose economy is based on exports and is heavily reliant on energy imports.
According to analysts, the drills resembled a larger, more threatening version of the war games China held in 1995 and 1996 to warn Taipei against electing a pro- independence successor in the country’s first free and direct presidential election and punish Taiwan for then-President Lee Teng-visit hui’s visit to the United States.
“It is a situation we considered: after our visitor is gone, they would punish us,” a top Taiwanese government official stated. Using force to resolve problems and disagreements would not solve them, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council warned at a regular press briefing on Thursday, the same day China launched several missiles near the self-ruled island in unprecedented military manoeuvres. The Council stated that these drills would not change the fact that the two sides do not belong to each other, and it encouraged the Communist Party to cease harassing Taiwan immediately. In a blitz of propaganda, Beijing blasted Pelosi’s visit as a provocation and singled out particular leaders from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party as targets for future “retribution.” The Taiwan Affairs Office, the Chinese
ministry in charge of Beijing’s day-to-day interactions with the island, stated that China’s reaction to Pelosi’s visit was “legitimate, lawful, and appropriate.”
Although Taiwan has long feared a Chinese invasion, a blockade would be a more immediate but nonetheless substantial danger, wreaking havoc on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes and disrupting supply chains critical for global technology exports, which are already under pressure due to the epidemic. Nonetheless, security analysts believe that Beijing’s military bravado should not be misconstrued as an impending invasion. They also warned that the manoeuvres might jeopardise a delicate, decades-long peace between China and Taiwan, which has enjoyed de facto independence since the conclusion of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and could spark conflict between Beijing and Washington.
“Vital military training operations and live-fire shooting will be organised from noon today till August 7,” Chinese state television reported on its official Weibo account. “These drills will be held at six locations throughout the island.” No ships or planes should enter the relevant waters or airspace during this time!” According to the US Navy, one of its aircraft carriers is performing normal operations east of the Philippines. “USS Ronald Reagan and her strike group are underway in the Philippine Sea, continuing normal, planned operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet announced. Two more US warships were spotted south of Japan and east of Taiwan. Since earlier this week, China’s two aircraft carriers have been outside their ports, in locations north and south of the Taiwan Strait.
As of 12.30 p.m., there was no trace of military action in numerous locations across Taiwan that were near the declared drill sites. According to the ship tracking website MarineTraffic, traffic in the zones marked off-limits by the PLA was less than normal, although several fishing and freight vessels passed through. Taiwan’s authorities, however, stated that China has created another exercise area off the island’s east coast. In the interest of aviation safety, the Civil Aviation Authority issued a Notice to Airmen early Thursday barring aircraft from entering a region south of Japan’s Yonaguni Island and east of Taiwan. Ships were advised to avoid the region by the transport ministry.