CCP War Games Test Ability to ‘Seize Power’ in Taiwan

A member of Taiwan's military (front) takes part in routine exercises at Liaoluo Port in Kinmen on May 24, 2024. I-Hwa Cheng /AFP via Getty Images

The Chinese military on Friday continued its large-scale exercises in the sea and air spaces near Taiwan, a move that analysts say will only bring more international support to the democratic-governed island.

The war games involving the Chinese navy, air force, and rocket forces started on Thursday, just days after the self-ruled island’s new president came into office.

Footage released by China’s state media CCTV on Friday showed its military positioning missiles on the ground with soldiers in the midst of a countdown. Still, there was no sign of any missiles being fired.

The military’s drills surrounding the self-ruled Taiwan were to “test the ability to jointly seize power, launch joint attacks, and occupy key areas,” the spokesperson of the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command, Li Xi, said in an online statement on Friday.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has never ruled Taiwan, considers the self-governed island as a renegade province and has never ruled out the possibility of using force to control it.

Taiwanese marine and coast guard vessels, along with air and ground-based missile units, have been put on alert, particularly around the Taiwan-controlled island chains of Kinmen and Matsu, which are just off China’s coast and far from Taiwan’s main island.

According to the defense ministry in Taipei, 49 Chinese military aircraft, 19 navy vessels, and 7 coastguard ships were detected in areas surrounding Taiwan over the past 24 hours as of 6 a.m. local time on Friday.

“There are no winners in wars,” Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a statement on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, “In the face of the CCP’s military drills, what we always believe and uphold is democracy and freedom.”

Beijing’s extensive drills are not a surprise for analysts, who had expected the CCP to flex military muscles following President Lai Ching-te’s inauguration. Yu Tsung-Chi, a security expert who served as the dean of the National Defense University’s Fu Hsing Kang College in Taiwan, called the drill a “beginning” of military pressure on Taiwan’s new government.

The CCP’s strategy is to use the drill to “assess the reaction of Taiwan and the international community” so that it could “fine-tune its future actions,” Mr. Yu told The Epoch Times.

According to China’s state media, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) two-day drills were carried out around Taiwan—to the north, south, and east and in the Taiwan Strait—and the island’s offshore islands of Dongyin, Kinmen, Matsu, and Wuqiu.

Mr. Yu, a retired major general, observed a reduction in Chinese military activities in the waters near Taiwan’s northeast, which are adjacent to Japan, in comparison to the extensive drills in August 2022 following a visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Mr. Yu attributed these changes to the strong protest by the Japanese government at the time, as several of the missiles launched by China flew over Taiwn to fall into the waters of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (C) watches a demonstration on the U.S.-made Stinger air-defence system during a visit to inspect military troops in Taoyuan on May 23, 2024. Sam Yeh / AFP via Getty Images

Taiwan’s new president visited a marine base in the northern city of Taoyuan on Thursday. Without mentioning the Chinese drill, Mr. Lai told sailors and security officials that he would “stand on the front line” to defend Taiwan’s national security.

“At this moment the international community is paying a lot of attention to democratic Taiwan,” Mr. Lai said. “Facing external challenges and threats, we will continue to defend the values of freedom and democracy and safeguard peace and stability in the region.”

‘Pretext’ for Coercive Measures

The PLA cast the large drills as a “strong punishment” for the “independence forces” of Taiwan, and a “stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces,” in an apparent reference to Washington.

In a statement to The Epoch Times, the U.S. State Department said it has noted concerning reports of the Chinese military’s drills and that it was “monitoring very closely in close coordination with Taiwan.”

“We strongly urge Beijing to act with restraint and reiterate that the PRC should not use Taiwan’s political transition—part of a normal, routine democratic process—as a pretext or excuse for provocative or coercive measures,” a spokesperson of the State Department said via email, using the acronym of China’s official name, People’s Republic of China.

Beijing’s actions “risk escalation and erode longstanding norms that have maintained regional peace and stability for decades,” the spokesperson said.

The Pentagon issued a similar-worded statement, calling Beijing’s actions “reckless” and “risk escalation.”

“We are confident in our current force posture and operations in the region to ensure peace and stability and to meet our national security commitments,” the Defense Department’s spokesperson said in a statement to The Epoch Times on Friday.

An outdoor screen shows news coverage of China's military drills around Taiwan, in Beijing on May 23, 2024. Jade Gao / AFP via Getty Images

The European Union called on all parties to exercise restraint and resolve tensions across the Taiwan Strait through dialogues.

“China’s military activities that started today around Taiwan increase cross-strait tensions,” a spokesperson of the European External Action Service said in a Thursday statement. “We oppose any unilateral actions that change the status quo by force or coercion.”

The United Nations also responded to the CCP’s action, saying it’s following the PLA’s drills closely.

“We urge the relevant parties to refrain from acts that could escalate tensions in the region,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during a briefing on Thursday.

Lee Cheng-hsiu, a researcher at Taiwan’s National Policy Foundation, suggested the CCP’s military actions will only bring more support to Taiwan.

“If a peaceful solution is reached and accepted by the people of Taiwan, no country will intervene. However, if the CCP uses force to coerce Taiwan, the international community will not accept it,” Mr. Lee told the publication on Thursday.

The CCP will face a backlash, he said.

Luo Ya, Fran Fang, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.