On Friday, the second day of a massive military drill initiated by Beijing to vent its resentment over the self-governing island’s inauguration of new leaders who reject its demand that Taiwan is a part of China, Taiwan monitored dozens of Chinese jets and navy vessels near its coast.
Extensive media pronouncements from China depict Taiwan as being encircled by People’s Liberation Army soldiers. In a brand-new film released on Friday, Taiwan was encircled by a circular target area with animated Chinese soldiers arriving from all directions, and simulated missiles were hitting important military and civilian objectives.
The 23 million residents of Taiwan, who have lived under constant fear of Chinese invasion since the two sides separated after a civil war in 1949, showed no indication of alarm in spite of this. While political parties fought over procedural procedures in Taiwan’s parliament on Friday, business as usual went on in the country’s vibrant capital Taipei, and the ports of Keelong and Kaohsiung.
Over the course of a 24-hour period from Thursday to Friday, the defense ministry stated that it observed 49 Chinese airplanes, 19 naval boats, and coast guard vessels. 35 of the planes crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait, which serves as the de facto barrier between the two sides.
Air and ground-based missile units, as well as marine and coast guard boats from Taiwan, have been placed on notice. This is especially true in the vicinity of the Taiwan-controlled island groups of Kinmen and Matsu, which are located far from Taiwan’s main island and just off the coast of China.
Taiwan is “a sovereign independent nation in which sovereignty lies in the hands of the people,” according to Lai, who called on Beijing to cease its military intimidation during his inaugural speech on Monday.
According to China’s military, the country’s increased drills surrounding Taiwan are a form of retaliation against separatist groups pushing for autonomy. In an attempt to weaken Taiwan’s defenses and scare its people, who adamantly support their de facto independence, it launches military ships and bombers into the Taiwan Strait and other regions surrounding the island virtually every day.
The spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Chen Binhua, stated in a statement on Thursday night that “as soon as the leader of Taiwan took office, he challenged the one-China principle and blatantly sold the ‘two-state theory.'”
The One-China Concept
The one-China concept holds that Taiwan is a part of China ruled by the Communist Party and that there is only one China. Beijing considers Taiwan to be a rebel province and has been increasing its military threats even though the island’s voters strongly support de facto independence.
Professor of International Relations Shi Yinhong of Renmin University of China claimed that the exercises and China’s rhetorical criticism of Lai were meant to convey Beijing’s resentment of Lai and his government’s policies. Those include carrying on the diplomatic isolation of Taiwan by Beijing and creating a robust national defense, as his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen had done.
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Source
ABC NEWS
