China has begun live-fire exercises near the Taiwan Strait but this time it is different as these exercises are being conducted within the sovereign territorial waters of Taiwan which indicates an escalation.
The Chinese government mouthpiece Global Times shared a map on Twitter which showed six regions surrounding the Taiwan island where live-fire exercises will be conducted as a response to the visit by the US House Speaker.
PLA will conduct important military exercises and training activities including live-fire drills in six regions surrounding the Taiwan island from Thursday to Sunday pic.twitter.com/k9q1WEDsyF
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 2, 2022
There is a reason why these drills should be taken seriously by the US and those who support Taiwan’s independence.
Video: PLA Eastern Theater Command has sent advanced warplanes to exercise combat takeoffs from different airports and conduct missions in different airspaces. The combat joint exercises are in response to #Pelosi’s visit to #Taiwan island. pic.twitter.com/hQlciNnCzZ
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 3, 2022
If lessons are to be learned from the war on Ukraine, Russia conducted several war drills before it invaded Ukraine. Russia even teamed with Belarus in 2020 Zapad war drills and carried out a mock invasion of Lithuania.
The PLA is planning to conduct live-fire military exercises within the sovereign territorial waters of Taiwan (blue line). These are the most provocative moves by China in decades & would qualify for the UN definition of state aggression.
Unambiguously escalatory & in the wrong. https://t.co/9trC6tLBct pic.twitter.com/jNVDx4jRUV— Nathan Ruser (@Nrg8000) August 2, 2022
Though it is not an ‘official’ invasion of Taiwan, the war drills conducted in Taiwanese waters are an escalation which is why the Taiwanese government and its military slammed the saber-rattling.
The Taiwanese defence ministry accused China of violating international law and Taiwan’s sovereignty for their live-fire military exercises.
PLA military drill areas could pose a threat to major ports & shipping lanes in Taiwan, forming a complete blockage. This could be one of the possible action plans for achieving reunification by force in the future: Herman Shuai, a retired army lieutenant general from Taiwan pic.twitter.com/DZv3WPvZUC
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 3, 2022
Nathan Ruser, a researcher at ASPI Cyber Policy, in a tweet pointed out that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) plans to conduct military operations within Taiwan’s internal waters. The researcher described the act as unacceptable and said it is ‘as close as you can get without landing on the beaches’.
Meanwhile, Taiwan is effectively facing an air and naval blockade imposed by the PLA.
2) Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense held a press conference, accusing #China of violating international law and #Taiwan‘s sovereignty for their live-fire military exercises that will take place in six zones around Taiwan, some of which overlapped with Taiwan’s territorial waters. pic.twitter.com/xR7tVPh8Hw
— Indo-Pacific News – Watching the CCP-China Threat (@IndoPac_Info) August 3, 2022
The nation is now discussing alternative aviation routes with Japan and the Philippines after the PLA said that live fire drills will continue until Sunday. Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau, according to a report by CNN, advised vessels to use alternative routes for seven ports around the island.
Beyond Taiwan’s territorial waters, China’s published maps show that they plan to conduct military operations within Taiwan’s Internal Waters (purple -approx line) in two areas. This is as close as you can get without landing on the beaches and is completely unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/tJC2b2ioAu
— Nathan Ruser (@Nrg8000) August 2, 2022
Even though Pelosi said the US will not abandon Taiwan and the support for the island is ironclad, after her departure from Taipei, the nation will be on high alert to see if China further escalates tensions .
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