Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te at the Presidential Palace, in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 1, 2025.
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China’smilitaryon Tuesday said it had begun joint army, navy and rocket force exercisesaroundTaiwanto “serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent againstTaiwanese independence”, callingTaiwan’sPresidentLai Ching-te a “parasite”.
The exercisesaroundthe democratically governed island, whichChinaviews asitsown territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring underitscontrol, come after Lai called Beijing a “foreign hostile force” last month.
Chinadetests Lai as a “separatist,” and in a video accompanying the Eastern Theater Command’s announcement of thedrillsdepicted him as cartoon bug held by a pair of chopsticks above a burningTaiwan.
“The focus is on exercises such as combat readiness patrols at sea and in the air, seizing comprehensive control, striking maritime and land targets, and imposing blockade controls on key areas and routes,” the Eastern Theater Command said onitsofficial WeChat social media account.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday thatChina’s Shandong aircraft carrier group had entered the island’s response area on Monday, adding that it had dispatchedmilitaryaircraft and ships and activated land-based missile systems in response.
“The Chinese Communist Party has continued to increaseitsmilitaryactivitiesaroundTaiwanand in the Indo-Pacific region… and has become the biggest ‘troublemaker’ in the international community,” the statement added.
“Closing In”
China’smilitaryreleased a series of propaganda videos in quick succession after the drill announcement, depicting Chinese warships and fighter jets encirclingTaiwan, Taipei being aimed at from above, andmilitaryvehicles patrolling city streets.
A video of a poster accompanying thedrillstitled “Closing In,” and showing Chinese forces surrounding the island, was released on the Eastern Theater Command’s Weibo.
This was followed by a video titled “Shell”, depictingpresidentLai as a green cartoon bug spawning parasites across the island, on the Eastern Theater Command’s WeChat page.
“Parasite poisoningTaiwanisland. Parasite hollowing Island out. Parasite courting ultimate destruction,” the animation said.
TaiwanDefense Minister Wellington Koo said such rhetoric was not conducive to peace and “shows their provocative character,” when asked about Lai’s cartoon depiction.
A third video, “Subdue Demons and Vanquish Evils”, featured Sun Wukong, the magical monkey king from the Ming Dynasty epic “Journey to the West” as he is depicted in the “Black Myth: Wukong” hit video game.
It opens with the video’s title flashing across the screen and the Chinese mythical warrior riding on clouds before cutting to footage of Chinese fighter jets.
“The joint exercise and training conducted by the Eastern Theater of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the vicinity ofTaiwanIsland is a resolute punishment for the Lai Ching-te authorities’ rampant ‘independence’ provocations,” said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson forChina’sTaiwanAffairs Office.
Taiwan’s Koo told reporters the PLA should focus first on resolvingitsissues with corruption instead of destroying peace and stability in the region.
China’smilitaryhas undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge over the past few years, which saw former Chinese Defense MinisterLi Shangfuousted in October 2024.
China’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Koo’s remarks.
The Global Times, which is owned by the People’s Daily newspaper of the governing Chinese Communist Party, said the drill had not been given a code name to show that Chinesemilitaryforces surrounding the island “has become a normal practice,” citing Zhang Chi of National Defense University.
“Through a series of exercises held in theTaiwanStrait in recent years, the PLA has strongly enhanceditsability to prepare for war and fight battles,” the article on the paper’s Weixin social media page added.
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