China launched its largest military exercises ever around Taiwan on Monday. ( Eastern Theater Command/Handout via Reuters)
CHINA WARNS OF RISING WAR RISK AFTER HISTORIC US ARMS SALE TO TAIWAN
The package includes 82 HIMARS rocket launchers paired with 420 ATACMS long-range missiles, giving Taiwan a new deep-strike capability across the Taiwan Strait. It also includes 60 self-propelled howitzers, advanced unmanned aerial vehicle systems, military software packages and anti-armor weapons.
"The ‘Taiwan independence’ forces on the island seek independence through force and resist reunification through force, squandering the hard-earned money of the people to purchase weapons at the cost of turning Taiwan into a powder keg," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.
"This cannot save the doomed fate of ‘Taiwan independence’ but will only accelerate the push of the Taiwan Strait toward a dangerous situation of military confrontation and war. The U.S. support for ‘Taiwan Independence’ through arms will only end up backfiring. Using Taiwan to contain China will not succeed."
As the drills unfolded, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said 89 Chinese military aircraft, 14 naval vessels and 14 coast guard ships were operating around the island, with additional warships spotted farther out in the Western Pacific. Some Chinese vessels were engaged in close stand-offs with Taiwanese ships near the island’s contiguous zone, about 24 nautical miles from shore.
A screen in Beijing displays China's live-fire drills.
China also released propaganda videos and posters alongside the drills, including footage depicting automated humanoid robots, swarms of micro-drones and weaponized robotic dogs attacking the island, as well as imagery appearing to show civilian vessels that analysts say could support an amphibious assault.
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"I think these drills are just meant to scare us," said Lin Wei-ming, a 31-year-old teacher in Taipei. "Similar drills have happened before … the political side of things can only be handled by Taiwan’s current government and how they choose to respond."
China claims Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan rejects that claim, maintaining that only its people can decide the island’s future.
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