China’s military declared Monday it is "ready to fight" after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president’s trip to the US last week. The "combat readiness patrols” named Joint Sword were meant as a warning to self-governing Taiwan, which China claims as its own, China's military said earlier. "The theater’s troops are ready to fight at all times and can fight at any time to resolutely smash any form of 'Taiwan independence' and foreign interference attempts," it said Monday. The Chinese actions follow President Tsai Ing-wen’s delicate mission to shore up Taiwan's dwindling diplomatic alliances in Central America and boost its US support, a trip capped with a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The exercises were similar to ones conducted by China last August, when it launched missile strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan in retaliation for then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, but have been smaller and less disruptive. The live-fire exercises disrupted flights and shipping in one of the busiest shipping lanes for global trade. This time, shipping and maritime traffic have largely continued as normal, says Kuo Yu-jen, a defense studies expert and director of the Institute for National Policy Research in Taiwan. Military experts say the exercises serve both as intimidation and as an opportunity for Chinese troops to practice sealing off Taiwan by blocking sea and air traffic, an important strategic option the Chinese military might pursue in the event it uses military force to take Taiwan, the AP reports.
The exercises this time have focused more on air strength, with Taiwan reporting more than 200 flights by Chinese warplanes in the past three days. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, citing the People’s Liberation Army, said the exercises are "simulating the joint sealing off" of Taiwan as well as "waves of simulated strikes" at important targets on the island. On Monday, the PLA said its Shandong aircraft carrier was taking part in the exercises encircling Taiwan for the first time. The appearance of the carrier suggests that it could be used to prevent foreign militaries from coming to help Taiwan, said Han Gan-ming, a research fellow at the government-backed Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
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Meanwhile, to the south in the South China Sea, the US 7th Fleet said its missile destroyer USS Milius sailed by Mischief Reef in a freedom of navigation operation. China has built an artificial island on the sea feature to stake its claim to the disputed territory. China said the US “illegally trespassed" into waters near the reef without the permission of the Chinese government, according to a statement from the Chinese military's southern command. (More China stories.)
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