China conducts large-scale drills around Taiwan after Lai speech

China’s military conducted large-scale drills Monday around Taiwan in “a stern warning” to those seeking the island’s independence, ratcheting up pressure after the territory’s President Lai Ching-te reiterated last week that the two sides are not subordinate to each other.

The exercise in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island involved the Chinese army, navy, air and rocket forces, with the Liaoning aircraft carrier deployed to the east of the island.

The Eastern Theater Command, which oversees the strait, said later in the day that it had successfully completed the drills to fully test its troops’ integrated joint operation capabilities, adding that it will thwart “Taiwan independence” separatist attempts.

The military said the exercise was “a legitimate and necessary operation for safeguarding state sovereignty and national unity.” It focused on sea-air combat-readiness patrols, blockades of key ports and areas, and assaults on maritime and ground targets.

The Chinese move was immediately condemned by Taipei, with Lai’s office urging Beijing to refrain from further military provocations.

The president said in a Facebook post that China intends to “undermine regional peace and stability and continue to use force to coerce surrounding countries.” He added that such a stance does not align with the expectations of the international community.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry condemned the drills as “irrational and provocative behavior” and said it had dispatched “appropriate troops” to protect the island’s “freedom, democracy and sovereignty.”

The China Coast Guard also said four of its formations carried out patrols in waters around Taiwan on Monday, describing them as “a practical action to manage and control the Taiwan Island according to the one-China principle.”

The Taiwan ministry said it had spotted a total of 125 Chinese aircraft, 17 warships, as well as 17 China Coast Guard and other government vessels, as of 4:30 p.m. The number of Chinese warplanes, including helicopters and drones, detected from around 5 a.m. was the highest ever recorded in a single day, it added.

China last conducted a large-scale military exercise surrounding Taiwan after Lai, whom Beijing condemns as a separatist, took office in May. China views the self-ruled island as a renegade province that is to be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Asked about the Chinese military exercise, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters Monday that Tokyo will “carefully monitor the situation and prepare to respond to any development.”

The United States said it is “seriously concerned” by the Chinese drills, adding that responding to an annual speech with “military provocations” is “unwarranted and risks escalation.”

Washington continues to monitor Chinese activities around the strait and “coordinate with allies and partners regarding our shared concerns,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press conference in Beijing that the Taiwan question is “purely internal affairs of China, which brooks no foreign interference.” She urged the United States to uphold the one-China principle and cease sending any wrong signals to the island’s separatist forces.

On Thursday, Lai said he remains resolved “to resist annexation or encroachment” of Taiwan’s contested status as a sovereign entity in a speech marking the island’s National Day.

He also said China “has no right to represent Taiwan” while seeking dialogue and exchanges with the mainland to “maintain the status quo” of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Communist-ruled China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split due to a civil war in 1949.

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