China began new military exercises near Taiwan on Saturday. This is reported by international news agencies. It concerns joint exercises of the Chinese navy and air force. Images of the exercises, released by Chinese authorities, include fighter jets and a destroyer. Taiwan says it has sighted at least 42 Chinese warplanes and eight ships, and said it is closely monitoring the situation. The exercises are a “serious warning” to Taiwan, according to China, and come after Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai visited the United States last week.
On his way from Taiwan to Paraguay, Lai made a stopover in New York on August 13. On his way back from the same trip, he stopped in the US again on August 17, this time in San Francisco. He gave a speech on both visits. “Don’t be afraid of the growing threat of authoritarianism,” Lai said in New York. “We have to be brave and strong to help Taiwan grow as a democracy.” Lai has long been more outspoken on the independence issue than Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen.
China almost immediately condemned Lai’s visit. Lai is said to be a “separatist” and a “troublemaker,” Beijing said. China considers Taiwan a renegade province, and therefore believes that Taiwan has no right to independently maintain diplomatic ties. China’s military exercises are therefore not entirely unexpected. Taiwanese authorities predicted earlier this week that China would use Lai’s visit for new military exercises near Taiwan. According to Taipei, Beijing wants the exercises to sow fear among Taiwanese in the run-up to the presidential election in January, with Lai currently leading the way.
The military exercises come amid wider tensions over China’s growing power. On Friday, the leaders of the United States, Japan and South Korea met for a special summit meeting. Although those talks were not “about China,” the three countries decided to work more closely together to protect “peace and security throughout the region.”