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China has commenced military exercises near Taiwan in response to the visit of the country’s vice-president and election frontrunner, Lai Ching-te, to the US this week.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) referred to the drills as a “serious warning” against the collaboration of “Taiwan independence” supporters with external forces. Lai recently returned from a low-profile visit to the US, where he made brief stops in New York and San Francisco while traveling to and from the inauguration of Paraguay’s new president, one of Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies.
During his visit, Lai made public appearances at banquets with overseas Taiwanese communities, making it a less publicized trip compared to previous visits by presidents or vice-presidents.
The Chinese government and Communist Party’s Taiwan Affairs Office accused Lai of shamelessly exploiting the US to pursue independence. They criticized his meetings with US officials in Paraguay, including interior secretary Deb Haaland, as well as his interview with Bloomberg. Lai also met with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Spain’s King Felipe IV in Asuncion.
The statement from the Chinese government described Lai as a troublemaker pushing Taiwan towards a dangerous situation of war.
In recent years, the US has allowed Taiwanese officials to make transit stops during visits to diplomatic allies. The conditions of these stops have varied depending on the state of bilateral ties and cross-Strait tensions. Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen has received increasingly generous treatment during her visits, including public addresses to US audiences and longer stays. On her last visit, Tsai even met with House speaker Kevin McCarthy, the highest-ranking American official to meet a Taiwanese president on US soil.
Being that Taiwan is claimed by Beijing as its territory, China has shown particular animosity towards Lai, who currently leads the polls ahead of the presidential elections in January. Both the US and Taiwanese governments have taken precautions to avoid provoking China and have urged Beijing to refrain from military intimidation during Lai’s transit stops.
However, officials in Taipei and Washington anticipated China’s military response, based on previous incidents involving high-profile visits. Contrary to expectations, the PLA did not announce multiple days of exercises this time, raising hopes for a more subdued reaction from Beijing.
Taiwan’s defense ministry reported the detection of eight Chinese warships and 42 military aircraft, with 26 of them entering Taiwan’s air-defense identification zone.
The PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command, responsible for the area including Taiwan, stated that the military exercises involved joint air and naval combat-readiness patrols, as well as joint drills of naval, air, and other forces. The focus was on naval-air coordination, “seizing control,” and other tasks to test their joint battle capabilities in real war conditions.
Taiwan’s defense ministry condemned the drills, emphasizing that China’s provocative actions with military aircraft and ships have severely damaged regional security. The ministry criticized China for launching these exercises, citing their militaristic mentality and confirming their nature of hegemonism and military expansionism.
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