The Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army of China announced that it will launch a new round of joint military exercises targeting Taiwan from Tuesday (April 4). The exercises will mobilize multiple arms including the army, navy, air force and rocket force to carry out "multi-directional approach of ships and aircraft" operations in the sea and air space around Taiwan.
According to media reports, Shi Yi, spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army of China, said that the key exercises of this operation include sea and air combat readiness patrols, seizing comprehensive control, sea and land strikes, and sealing off important areas and channels, aiming to test the troops' joint combat and actual combat capabilities.
The PLA Eastern Theater Command released a theme poster for this military operation on its official Weibo account on the 1st. The title had the Chinese characters "进近" (advance) in traditional Chinese characters, and the text read "Taiwan independence is making trouble and bringing disaster upon itself." It then released a 49-second animated film titled "Shell," suggesting that Taiwan's existing democracy, freedom, peace, and prosperity will be destroyed by Taiwan independence, writing "using the shell to deceive the world and the green bombardment, relying on foreign powers to seek independence and drive mad at home, committing sins by dividing the two sides of the strait, and implementing democracy in opposition to destroy prosperity."
After the President of the Republic of China, Lai Ching-te, announced on March 3 that the military trial system would be restored and that China would be regarded as a "hostile force abroad", China has made relevant statements on this many times and continued to organize combat readiness patrols and joint exercises in the surrounding waters. In response to media questions last Thursday (13th), Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said, "If God wants someone to perish, he will make him crazy. Taiwan is a part of China and has never been a country. It was not in the past, it is not now, and it will never be in the future."
In response to this round of exercises, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of China, issued a statement accusing the Taiwan government's Lai Ching-te administration of "rampant separatist provocations," emphasizing that "pursuing Taiwan independence means war," and stating that "there will be no room for any form of Taiwan independence separatist activities."
Premier Chuo Jung-tai of the Republic of China pointed out that the various Chinese Communist Party exercises have continued to take place around Taiwan, "and this is not the first time. The government, as in the past, is still sending defense agencies to maintain a high level of attention to prevent any exercises from affecting Taiwanese society." He also pointed out that "blindly showing off military power is by no means what a progressive country should see today. If the Chinese Communist Party authorities can understand this, it will certainly contribute to regional stability."
