Taiwan’s armed forces are training for a possible Chinese attack this week, as tensions with China continue to mount. The exercises are used to test their own reaction capacity, should it come to a Chinese invasion. Secretary of State Joseph Wu called China’s continued air and sea exercises around Taiwan “preparing for an invasion” during a press conference on Tuesday.
Also read: China creates a ‘new normal’ around Taiwan with military exercise
According to Taiwan, its own military exercises were already planned before the arrival of American politician Nancy Pelosi last week. Her possible visit has recently fueled tensions in the region, as China saw it as an implicit recognition of Taiwan’s independence. The country sees Taiwan as a renegade province that will sooner or later be re-incorporated, but Taiwan disputes that and states that only the inhabitants of the island can determine the future.
When it became clear last week that Pelosi would finally land in Taiwan, China announced large-scale exercises around the island. Since Thursday, exercises have been taking place both at sea and in the air and the Chinese have been firing rockets. The exercises were initially scheduled to last until Sunday, but were extended indefinitely on Monday.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Wu warned in his press conference of the possibility that after the exercises, which began Thursday last week and were extended Monday, China may want to make military activity a routine and change the status quo around Taiwan. According to him, China is also trying to weaken public morale among the Taiwanese people through cyber attacks and economic exclusion, among other things. Wu urged more international support for Taiwan.