China launches biggest Taiwan drills ever as ‘punishment’ for new president’s defiant speech

China‘s has declared two days of major military exercises simulating an invasion of Taiwan, a provocative move that it describes as “punishment” for the island’s newly-inaugurated president.

Dozens of Chinese fighter jets carrying live missiles were scrambled towards Taiwan on Thursday morning without any advance warning, and Beijing conducted mock strikes in targeted areas around the island.

The drills are thought to be the most expansive yet, encompassing areas that include Taiwanese islands near to the Chinese mainland, and are by far the biggest since the aftermath of then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the region in 2022.

China’s mock strikes hit simulated high-value military targets, ships and warplanes of the “enemy” and were conducted in coordination with naval ships and missile forces, according to Colonel Li Xi, spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command.

The drills came three days after Lai Ching-te – a man Beijing detests as a “separatist” – took office as Taiwan’s new president.

Taiwan has responded by scrambling its own jets and putting missile, naval and land units on alert. Its presidential office expressed regret that China was threatening the island’s democratic freedoms, as well as regional peace and stability, with its “unilateral military provocations”, but said people should rest assured Taiwan can and will ensure its security.

China‘s “irrational provocation has jeopardised regional peace and stability,” the island’s defence ministry said. It said Taiwan will seek no conflicts but “will not shy away from one”.

“This pretext for conducting military exercises not only does not contribute to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, but also shows its hegemonic nature at heart,” the ministry’s statement said.

A Taiwan Air Force C-130 aircraft takes off at Hsinchu Air Base in Hsinchu (Reuters)

China, which views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, has reacted angrily to Mr Lai’s inauguration speech on Monday, in which he called on Beijing to “accept the reality” of Taiwan and stop threatening the island with war.

Mr Lai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future, and rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. He says he has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed.

The drills, which began at 7.45am local time, are being conducted in the Taiwan Strait, the north, south and east of Taiwan, as well as areas around the Taiwan-controlled islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin, said the Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

A ship is seen near a fishing port in Taiwan’s Kinmen on 23 May 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

They focus on joint sea-air combat-readiness patrols, precision strikes on key targets, and integrated operations inside and outside the island chain to test the “joint real combat capabilities” of the forces, China‘s military said.

“This is also a strong punishment for the separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces and a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces,” the command added.

A ground staff walks next to a Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000-5 at Hsinchu Air Base in Hsinchu (Reuters)

China‘s state broadcaster CCTV said Mr Lai’s inauguration speech was “extremely harmful” and China‘s countermeasures are “legitimate, legal and necessary”.

Mr Lai’s speech was a confession of a desire for Taiwan independence and undermined peace and stability across the strait, it said.

Although the drills will only last two days, the geographical scope is larger than any previous exercises as they include Taiwan’s outlying islands, said Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow at Taiwan’s top military think tank, the Institute for National Defence and Security Research.

This is designed to demonstrate China‘s ability to control the seas and prevent the involvement of foreign forces, he said.

“The political signals here are greater than the military ones,” he added.

China’s demonstration of its ability to encircle Taiwan without warning “is certainly a blow to the US”, said Wu Xinbo, director of the centre for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. He added that it shows China’s willingness to “increase its deterrence towards Taiwan independence forces and strengthen its capability to mould the Taiwan Strait situation in response to the domestic changes in Taiwan.”

Condemning the “normalisation of abnormal actions,” Lieutenant General Stephen SKlenka, Deputy Commander of US-Indo-Pacific command in Canberra, demanded public criticism of China’s actions.

“We need to condemn it publicly and it needs to come from us but it also needs to come from nations in the region ... it is far more powerful when it comes from nations in this region. It is concerning but I also believe in my heart of hearts that conflict between our two nations is not inevitable and its not a foregone conclusion.”

There was no immediate signal of alarm in Taiwan, where people are long used to Chinese military activity. The island’s benchmark stock index , currently running at historic highs, was actually up 0.2 per cent on Thursday. “The drills will have a short-term psychological impact, but won’t reverse the long-term upward trend of Taiwan stocks,” said Mega International Investment Services vice president Alex Huang.

Additional reporting by agencies

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