China launches live fire drills after top communist official calls for ‘reunification’

Taiwan dispatched naval, land, and air forces on Wednesday in response to China’s live-fire exercise zone just 40 nautical miles off the coast of Taiwan. The defense ministry in Taiwan stated that they were only made aware of the drill after local Taiwanese vessels were warned to stay away from the area once the exercises had already begun. The drills were concentrated off the coast of Kaohsiung, a port city in Taiwan, and Chinese officials did not acknowledge Taiwan’s complaints regarding the violation of international norms.

The defense ministry in Taiwan condemned China’s actions, stating that the drills posed a high risk to the safety of international flights and ships at sea, as well as being a blatant provocation to regional security and stability. Taiwan reported detecting 32 Chinese military aircraft participating in joint exercises with warships during the drill.

These drills come amidst a string of Chinese aggression this month, with live-fire exercises being conducted off the coast of Vietnam and between New Zealand and Australia, resulting in the diversion of commercial flights. Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly expressed his willingness to take over Taiwan by force, as China views Taiwan as a rebel territory belonging to Beijing.

The exercises off Taiwan’s coast also followed the detainment of a Chinese crew aboard a Togolese-registered vessel suspected of cutting an undersea fiber optic cable connecting Taiwan and Penghu islands. The crew of the vessel, named the Hong Tai 168, were all Chinese nationals, and the coast guard confirmed the cable had been cut at 3 a.m. on Tuesday. Taiwan split from mainland China in 1949 after pro-democratic forces lost a civil war to Mao Zedong’s Chinese Communist Party and fled to the island.

These recent events highlight the ongoing tensions between Taiwan and China, as Taiwan continues to assert its sovereignty while China seeks reunification with the island. The international community will be closely monitoring the situation to ensure peace and stability in the region.