In response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-visit wen's to the United States last week, the Chinese military is simulating attacks on "key targets" in Taiwan.
This was the second day of simulations for what many experts believe is an attempt to intimidate the tiny island nation, as The Daily Wire reported.
Tsai's visit to the United States, during which she conferred with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) – the highest-level encounter between a sitting Taiwanese president and an American official ever to occur on American soil – prompted Beijing to issue strong warnings. The Chinese military commenced three days of exercises on Saturday, including a "circumnavigation" of the island.
“Under the unified command of the theatre joint operations command center, multiple types of units carried out simulated joint precision strikes on key targets on Taiwan island and the surrounding sea areas, and continue to maintain an offensive posture around the island,” Chinese state TV reported Sunday.
Eleven Chinese navy ships and 71 Chinese warplanes were observed around Taiwan on Sunday, with 45 aircraft entering Taiwan's air defense identification zone on Saturday, according to the Taiwan Defense Ministry. According to Reuters, state media claimed the aircraft were equipped with live armaments, which Taiwanese aircraft also employ when attempting to scramble Chinese fighters.
A security source told Reuters that approximately ten Taiwanese ships and ten Chinese ships are in a confrontation along the Taiwan Strait median line, an unofficial buffer between Taiwan and Communist China.
Taiwan is not China's only objective, according to a second source familiar with the situation quoted by Reuters. Off the southwest coast of Taiwan, China has reportedly been conducting air and sea attack simulations against "foreign military targets." The source informed the outlet, "It's very provocative."
Zhao Xiaozhuo of China's Academy of Military Sciences told the Global Times, a state-run publication, that this is the first time Communist China has publicly discussed simulated assaults on specific Taiwanese targets in this manner.
According to Reuters, Zhao also clarified what "key targets" could imply, stating that military logistics organizations, runways, and mobile targets are included. The Global Times reported that Zhao also stated that China would "annihilate" the targets "in one fell swoop" if necessary.
The de facto embassy of the United States in Taiwan issued a statement expressing "comfort and confidence" in America's capacity to maintain peace and stability in the region, adding that the situation is being monitored. In an interview with Euronews, before the Chinese exercises began last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would have far-reaching repercussions.
“I heard this in conversations with many of our NATO allies as well as partners in Asia: there is concern that, were there to be a crisis as a result of China’s actions over Taiwan, that would have repercussions for quite literally every country on earth,” Blinken said.
China has persistently provoked Taiwan, particularly since the election of Tsai, whose Democratic Progressive Party favors independence from the communist nation. In response to Representative Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) August visit to Taiwan, China took a number of provocative actions, including dispatching Chinese aircraft and ships into and near the Taiwan Strait and 21 of them into Taiwan's air defense zone.
The Daily Wire previously reported that at the Chinese Communist Party Congress in October, President Xi Jinping called for "reunification" with Taiwan and said the communist nation is prepared to use force to accomplish it, stating that they "reserve the option of taking all measures necessary."
“The wheels of history are rolling on towards China’s reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” Xi said in his opening address at the party congress. “Complete reunification of our country must be realized.”
