Four days after a speech by the president of Taiwan celebrating the 113th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China (the official name of the entity that has ruled the Asian island since 1949), in which Lai Ching-te insisted that Beijing “has no right to represent make Taiwan,” the Armed Forces of the People’s Republic of China deployed warships, fighter jets and one of its aircraft carriers for large-scale military exercises around the claimed territory.
According to a map released by China’s state broadcaster CCTV last Monday, the Joint Sword-2024B exercises are being conducted in six pre-defined zones, west, east, north and south of Taiwan, and involve soldiers and Navy assets, the Air Force, the Rocket Force and the Coast Guard, commanded and coordinated by the military leadership of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Through a statement, Captain Li Xi, spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command, explained that the maneuvers aim to test China’s air and sea combat capabilities and capabilities to protect and maintain ports and other infrastructure that are considered fundamental. to block Taiwan.
Mentioned by South China Morning PostLi also sure that the exercises could go to war at any time. “This is a major setback for the separatist actions of the Taiwan independence forces. It is a legitimate and necessary operation to protect the sovereignty and integrity of the State”, he explained.
In another statement, the Coast Guard of China’s Fujian province, the closest to the autonomous territory that Beijing says is a central part of the People’s Republic of China, said it had mobilized vessels near the islands of Dongyin and Matsu, which controlled by Taiwanese. authorities.
Condemning Beijing’s “provocative and irrational actions”, which it argued, “increase tensions and undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense in turn confirmed that the island’s Armed Forces were ” on the utmost alert, with firm desire. to prepare for war without seeking”. According to the Taiwanese government, Joint Sword-2024B involves at least 125 aircraft and 17 warships.
The United States and the European Union have also criticized China’s exercises. The Russian Federation revealed that its Defense Minister, Andrei Belousov, arrived in Beijing next Monday for a “series of discussions with the Army and political-military leadership” of China.
Reunification or independence?
The Republic of China (Taiwan) has been governed independently since 1949, when the nationalist President, Chiang Kai-shek, defeated the communist forces of Mao Tsetung in the Chinese civil war, and decided to establish a Government in exile on the island of Formosa. , as the territory is also called.
Currently, Taiwan has more than 23 million inhabitants, holds free elections, has freedom of speech and has a thriving economy, especially in the semiconductor sector. However, despite having unofficial support from countries such as the USA, Japan or Australia, it is only recognized as a representative of China’s political power by 12 states.
Treating Taiwan as an occupied Chinese province, the Chinese Communist Party and President Xi Jinping frame the “reunification” between the island and mainland China as a “historical objective” and ensure that they do not refuse to “use force” to achieve it. .
In recent years, which coincided with the Taiwan government by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) – a center-left party, which is in favor of the independence of the territory, which has its roots in the independence of Taiwan -, leaders such as Lai or the t -former president, Tsai. Ing – wen, always called by Beijing and its leaders and press as “separatists” and “rioters”.
PLA military exercises are increasing in frequency and number of military assets across the island, and Taiwan’s military and political authorities say they are preparing for a Chinese invasion of the island, which could, they admit, happen in the next ten years.
In his speech last Thursday in Taipei, the President of Taiwan insisted that “Taiwan and China are not “controlled by each other” and promised to “maintain the commitment to resist the authorities in communist China in against the authorities in communist China.
The role of aircraft carriers
Unlike what happened after the announcement of Joint Sword-2024A, which was held in May, shortly after the inauguration of Lai, who was elected in January, this time the PLA did not reveal the length of Joint Sword-2024B; he only reported that he had completed the operations scheduled for last Monday. The May military exercises lasted two days and took place in five areas around Taiwan, in addition to the current six.
Emphasizing that according to the map released by CCTV, the PLA exercises include maneuvers and simulations in areas close to the capital, Taipei (North), Kaohsiung (South), Taichung (Center) and Hualien (East). , Chieh Chung, of the Association for Strategic Foresight, says Joint Sword-2024B “effectively covers all of Taiwan’s outer ports.”
According to the general secretary of the think tank military, based in Taipei, mentioned by the South China Morning PostChinese exercises create “a war situation in which Taiwan is completely cut off from the outside world.”
As well as publishing the explanatory map about the military exercises, CCTV released images of J-15 fighter jets taking off from the aircraft carrier Liaoningat sunrise
With 45 thousand tons and capacity to carry 26 warplanes, the Liaoning its basic structure is a Soviet aircraft carrier that was being built in Ukraine when the USSR collapsed. Purchased by China in the late 1990s, it has gradually re-converted into a more modern military asset, being able to match the ability of the Shandong. oh Fujianthe PLA’s third and newest aircraft carrier, still in the testing phase.
“In the past, the Liaoning it was criticized for having insufficient capacity to handle the continuous take-off and landing of fighters. The ELP hopes that, after the massive remodeling that has been done to it, the Liaoning can at least match the combat capabilities of Shandongfor [a China] to be able to conduct operations with two aircraft carriers,” he said.
In the hypothetical case of an invasion of Taiwan by the PLA, the involvement of aircraft carriers is considered critical to the success or failure of an operation on this scale.
Speaking to PÚBLICO, during the newspaper’s visit last year to Taipei, at the invitation of the Taiwanese Government, Yujen Kuo, a professor at the Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies at the National Sun Yat-sem University, argued, As due to its geographical characteristics, Taiwan is “one of the most difficult battlefields in the world” and “is a nightmare for any soldier.”
“It’s a small island, but 77% of the territory is mountains. We have 268 mountains higher than 2500 meters and 200 mountains higher than 3000 meters. On the other hand, the Taiwan Strait is very shallow, the average depth is only 60 meters. It does not permit large-scale amphibious assaults. The sea along the east coast is quite deep, but most of the mountains are on this coast. In other words, an attack can only be made from the North, through the Okinawa trench, or from the South, through the Kaohsiung trench”, he explained.
“Any attempted air or sea attack against Taiwan will inevitably spread to Okinawa or the Philippine islands, whether China likes it or not,” he said, however. “I would drag Japan, the US and the Philippines into war. This makes the calculations of China’s strategic war preparations very difficult, if not impossible. That is why, until now, China has never taken bolder military action against Taiwan.”