China announces the end of its military maneuvers around Taiwan

China announced the end of the large-scale military maneuvers that it has been carrying out since Thursday around the island of Taiwan to demonstrate its opposition to what it considers to be separatist remarks by the new Taiwanese president ;iuml;wanais Lai Ching-te.

The Chinese army “successfully completed” the exercises named “Joint Sword-2024A” against Taiwan, a CCTV-7 presenter said Friday evening , Chinese state television responsible for military news.

The army's Eastern theater of operations announced Thursday that it had started these maneuvers, planned to last until Friday. He did not explicitly confirm that they were completed.

The Chinese military released a video Friday evening showing missile trucks ready to fire, officers on warships watching Taiwanese boats through binoculars, and soldiers in fatigues proclaiming their loyalty to the Communist Party.

Intended in particular to simulate a blockade of the island, these exercises involved the land forces, the navy, the air force and the rocket unit (responsible for strategic missiles ). They mainly took place in the Taiwan Strait, in the north, south and east of the territory.

In Taiwan, presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo denounced on Saturday these maneuvers which, according to her, raise “serious concerns” and constitute a “blatant provocation with regard to the international order”.

China considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces, which it has not yet managed to reunify with its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war and the coming to power of the communists on the mainland in 1949.

Beijing calls for “peaceful” reunification with the territory of 23 million inhabitants, governed by a democratic system, but does not rule out using force if The island is moving towards independence.

– “Troublemaker” –

China is was thus offended by Lai Ching-te's inauguration speech delivered on Monday.

China's military exercises around Taiwan © AFP – Nicholas SHEARMAN

The Taiwanese president indicated in particular that “the Republic of China (Taiwan, editor's note) and the People's Republic of China (mainland China led by the Communist Party, editor's note) are not subordinate to each other. 'other'.

Remarks deemed separatist by Beijing.

“The leader of the Taiwan region has seriously questioned the principle of one China (…), which pushes our compatriots in Taiwan into a perilous situation of war and danger,” Wu Qian said on Friday, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defense.

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“This is called playing with fire and those who play with fire will definitely get burned.”

China regularly accuses the current Taiwanese authorities of wanting to deepen the cultural separation between the island and the continent, despite the fact that the vast majority of Taiwanese are culturally

“Beijing's goal is to shape the international narrative” by presenting the “new Taiwanese government as, quote, a troublemaker,” says AFP political analyst Wen-ti Sung, based in Taiwan.

With these “highly publicized” military maneuvers, China not only wants to “show its dissatisfaction” with Taipei but also “dissuade” other countries from cooperating with the island to “isolate it even further”, believes il.

– “Fighting arrogance” –

Beijing is obviously targeting Washington. Because although the United States cut its diplomatic ties with Taiwan at the end of the 1970s, they remain its main supplier of arms to the Chinese army.

Taiwan: Chinese air incursions © AFP – STAFF, Nicholas SHEARMAN, John SAEKI

China regularly criticizes exchanges, particularly military exchanges, between the Americans and the Taiwanese authorities, which according to it are solely aimed at “containing” the development of the Asian giant.

The Chinese army “will continue to resolutely combat the arrogance of supporters of Taiwan independence” and “resolutely crush secessionist conspiracies,” theater spokesperson Li Xi said Friday evening of operations Est.

“The scale of the exercises (this week) was significant, but far from being as important, it seems, as those of August” 2023, launched by Beijing after a visit to the United States by Lai Ching- te, then vice-president, in the United States, however underlines Wen-ti Sung.

Undated photo released May 24, 2024 by the Eastern Theater Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) shows a missile launcher at a base during the “Joint Sword-2024A” military exercise in China's Fujian (east) © EASTERN THEATER COMMAND OF THE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY – –

Beijing also carried out exercises of historic scale in August 2022 after the stay on the island of Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the American House of Representatives.

What to expect now ?

The name of this week's military exercise (“Joint Sword-2024A”) seems to indicate via its “last suffix, A, that it is only the first edition”, notes Wen-ti Sung. “If, in quotes, the different actors do not behave well, then Beijing could launch edition B, or even C and so on.”

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