China Conducts Joint Air-Sea Exercises in Response to Taiwanese Vice President’s US Trips

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Chinese Army Conducts Military Exercises Around Taiwan in Response to Vice President’s US Stopovers

PEKING – In a show of strength and defiance, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China has conducted joint air-sea military exercises around Taiwan. This move is widely seen as a response to the recent stopovers made by Taiwanese Vice President William Lai in the United States.

The Eastern Theater Command of the PLA issued a statement on the Weibo social network, emphasizing that these maneuvers are a “serious warning” to both the separatist groups within Taiwan and the external forces supporting them.

Colonel Shi Yi, the spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command, explained that the exercises took place in the area adjacent to Taiwan and involved the coordination of combat ships and aircraft. The main objectives were to practice coordination among different military units and to enhance control over both air and maritime space.

The spokesperson further added that these exercises serve to test the real combat capacity of the troops within the Eastern Theater Command, which is responsible for defending China’s east coast and would spearhead any potential military intervention in Taiwan.

Vice President William Lai concluded his visits to Paraguay and made two stops in the United States before returning to Taipei on Friday. During his time in the US, he did not meet with any US officials, instead focused on engaging with the Taiwanese community residing there.

However, Pan Xianzhang, the vice director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, criticized Lai’s stopovers. Pan stated that these visits “harm the interests of the island’s citizens” and pose a threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

China has recently accused Lai of seeking trouble and using these US transits as an excuse to engage in political activities.

This is not the first time that China has flexed its military muscles around Taiwan in response to visits by Taiwanese officials to the US. Similar exercises were conducted last April when President Tsai Ing-wen visited the United States during her trip to Central America.

Tensions between Taipei and Beijing have escalated since Tsai assumed power in 2016. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, considering it a “rebel province” since the Kuomintang nationalists retreated there in 1949 following their defeat in the civil war against the communist army.

Taiwan remains a major source of contention between China and the United States. The US is Taiwan’s primary arms supplier and has vowed to defend the island in the event of a conflict.

As military exercises around Taiwan continue, it remains uncertain how these antagonistic moves will impact the already tense cross-strait relations.