South China Sea: China announces military drills arround Taiwan waters; Taiwan’s Lai says China has ‘no right to represent Taiwan’; East Asia Summit calls for restraint

The Chinese military has mobilized to start massive military drills in waters surrounding Taiwan as a warning against Taiwanese pro-independence forces.

China’s Eastern Theater Command announced on Monday morning that the drills will be conducted in the Taiwan Strait, as well as in the waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan. The command oversees the East China Sea, including Taiwan, among other regions. The areas of the drills nearly encircle Taiwan.

The command also says the military exercises will involve the army, navy, air force and rocket force, among others, to assess their joint operational capabilities.

It says the training includes blockading key ports and areas, and attacking targets on land and at sea.

In concert with the military’s move, China’s coast guard says it will also carry out a patrol encircling Taiwan by four groups of its vessels.

The moves come after Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te delivered a speech at a ceremony to mark Double Ten Day. Taiwan considers October 10 to be its national day.

In the speech on Thursday, Lai said, “the People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan.” China sharply reacted to his remarks.

Lai said that “the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other,” reiterating his view that Taiwan is distinct from China.

He said his mission is to “uphold the commitment to resist annexation or encroachment upon our sovereignty.”

The statement also said the US calls on China “to act with restraint and to avoid any further actions that may undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region, which is essential to regional peace and prosperity and a matter of international concern.”

China regards Lai as a pro-independence element. The Eastern Theater Command says the coming drills are intended as a stern warning against separatist acts by pro-independence forces in Taiwan.

The military argues that the exercise is a legitimate and necessary operation to safeguard national sovereignty and national unity.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning slammed the speech by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.

She said in a news conference on Thursday that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory and that the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the entire China.

The spokesperson went on to say the historic flow that China will eventually be unified cannot be stopped, regardless of what Lai’s administration says or does.

Mao also stated that Taiwan has never been a country and will never become a country, and that it fundamentally has no “so-called sovereignty.”

Taiwan’s defense ministry has strongly condemned what it calls the Chinese military’s irrational and provocative actions.

It says China is constantly using threats and other means to shrink Taiwan’s international standing.

It states that Taiwan’s military remains determined to build up defensive capabilities and ensure Taiwan’s security.

These will be the first such massive drills conducted by the Chinese military near Taiwan since May.

The US State Department has expressed concern about Chinese military drills in waters surrounding Taiwan.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement on Sunday, “The United States is seriously concerned by the People’s Liberation Army joint military drills in the Taiwan Strait and around Taiwan.”

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and is wary of Lai, labeling him a separatist.

Since Lai took office in May, China has intensified military pressure through exercises by its forces around Taiwan.

Meanwhile, leaders from ASEAN member states and countries including Japan, the United States and China have called for self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would escalate disputes in the South China Sea.

The leaders issued a chairman’s statement following Friday’s East Asia Summit in Laos.

The statement refers to the South China Sea, where China is increasing its presence and is locked in territorial disputes with the Philippines, Taiwan and other countries.

The statement reads, “We reaffirmed the need to enhance mutual trust and confidence, exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability and avoid actions that may further complicate the situation.”

It says the leaders further reaffirmed the need to pursue peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law.