Photo: Chinese Army via Agence France-Presse In this photo made available by the Chinese Army on Friday, fighter jets prepare to take part in the “Joint Sword-2024A” military exercises directed against Taiwan, at an unspecified location.
France Media Agency in Beijing
Published yesterday at 11:33 p.m. Updated yesterday at 11:40 p.m.
- Asia
China has announced the end of the large-scale military maneuvers it has been carrying out since Thursday around the island of Taiwan to demonstrate its opposition to what it considers separatist remarks by the new Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te.
The Chinese army “successfully completed” the “Joint Sword-2024A” exercises against Taiwan, a presenter for CCTV-7, China's state television responsible for military news, said Friday evening.
The army's Eastern theater of operations announced Thursday morning that it had started these maneuvers, scheduled to last until Friday inclusive. But he had still not explicitly confirmed on Saturday that they had ended the day before.
Warships, planes, soldiers and missile launchers were mobilized to encircle Taiwan as part of these military maneuvers officially named in English “Joint Sword-2024A” (or “Épées sharpes unies-2024A” in French).
These exercises involved the ground forces, navy, air force and rocket unit (responsible for strategic missiles) and took place mainly “in the Taiwan Strait, to the north, south and east of the island of Taiwan.”
They also took place in the areas around the islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin, all located in the immediate vicinity of the east coast of China.
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China considers that Taiwan is one of its provinces, which it has not yet succeeded in reunifying with its territory since the end of the civil war and the coming to power of the communists in 1949.
Beijing says it favors “peaceful” reunification with the island territory of 23 million inhabitants but does not rule out using force.
Previous Chinese military maneuvers The scale-up around Taiwan took place in August 2023 after a visit by Mr. Lai, then vice-president, to the United States.
Beijing also carried out exercises of historic scale in August 2022 after the stay on this island of Nancy Pelosi, then president of the American House of Representatives.