[New Tang Dynasty News, Beijing time, January 10, 2023]The Chinese Communist Party’s military suddenly announced late at night on the 8th that it will conduct “actual combat drills” in the sea and air around Taiwan, and clearly stated that this move is aimed at “anti-Taiwan independence.” Taiwan responded that the CCP’s accusations were baseless. Currently, the Japanese and US militaries are conducting joint training in Japan, and Britain and Australia are sending troops to participate in the exercise for the first time.
At 11 o’clock in the evening on January 8 local time, Shi Yi, the spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese Communist Party, suddenly issued a statement saying that in order to oppose “Taiwan independence,” the so-called “joint combat readiness patrol and actual combat drills of all services and arms” will be launched in the Taiwan Strait region. , so as to test the joint combat capability of the troops. According to this statement, the military exercise organized by the Eastern Theater Command of the Communist Army in the sea and airspace around Taiwan “focuses on the exercise of land strikes and sea assaults.”
In response to the above-mentioned statement by the CCP, Taiwan’s presidential office responded on the 9th, severely condemning the above-mentioned remarks by the CCP military as “unwarranted” accusations.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office spokesman Zhang Tunhan said in a statement: “The Communist Army continues to carry out military activities around the Taiwan Strait with various groundless accusations. The international community looks forward to it together.”
On the same day, Sun Lifang, a spokesman for Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, disclosed, “The National Army has recently detected multiple batches of shared aircraft and ships, which have continued to operate around the Taiwan Strait, and some of the shared aircraft have crossed the center line of the strait.”
Sun Lifang emphasized: “The national army uses mission aircraft, ships, and shore-mounted missile systems to closely monitor and respond, and trains hard against the background of combat readiness. Based on the principle of not escalating conflicts and not provoking disputes, we firmly defend sovereignty and the country. Stay safe and stick to the defense line of democracy and freedom.”
At present, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force is conducting a joint exercise with troops from the United States, Britain, and Australia in mainland Japan to simulate how to “take back” Japan’s outer islands when they are occupied by the enemy. For the first time, British and Australian troops are participating in a Japan-U.S. joint exercise.
In response to the above-mentioned tense situation, Su Ziyun, a think tank of Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense and director of the National Defense Strategy and Resources Research Institute of the National Defense Security Research Institute, was interviewed by Radio Free Asia and pointed out that the military exercise announced by the Eastern Theater Command of the Communist Army on the 8th was obviously aimed at promoting Surrounding activities to express dissatisfaction with Tokyo. Because Japan passed three supplementary documents to the “National Security Strategy” at the end of last year, which stated that it will have the “counterattack capability” to attack enemy bases. According to the new strategic deployment, Japan will also strengthen the defense of Yonaguni Island and Ishigaki Island, which are close to Taiwan’s southwest islands.
Su Ziyun said: “The CCP’s current activities in the Taiwan Strait are not necessarily aimed at Taiwan’s specific issues, but are responding to international issues, but regard Taiwan (the surrounding area) as a field to demonstrate its military power.”
Su Ziyun reminded the Taiwan authorities not to be “led by the nose” by the CCP’s performance. Every hour the CCP’s military aircraft fly, it takes an average of 20 hours for maintenance. For the CCP itself, this is also a war of attrition.
Jie Zhong, a researcher at the China Strategic Foresight Association, told Radio Free Asia that the CCP’s military exercise on the 8th was mainly a political expression or pressure. The main purpose of the Communist Army should be to put pressure on Washington by maintaining tension in the Taiwan Strait, and to prevent the United States from truly implementing the friendly-Taiwan clause in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. Because according to these terms, political and military exchanges between the United States and Taiwan will be greatly improved.
(Editor in charge: Li Ming)
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