China's military has commenced a new round of war games near Taiwan, aimed at signalling a stern warning to the island's pro-independence movements.
The exercises, named "Joint Sword-2024B", were conducted in the Taiwan Strait and the surrounding areas to the north, south, and east of Taiwan on Monday, local time.
Taiwan's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday it had detected a record number of 153 Chinese military aircraft participating in China's war games around the island.
The Chinese military's Eastern Theatre Command emphasised that the manoeuvres were a "legitimate and necessary" operation to safeguard China's sovereignty and national unity.
"The drill also serves as a stern warning to the separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces. It is a legitimate and necessary operation for safeguarding state sovereignty and national unity," it said in a statement.
In response, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council condemned the exercises as "blatant provocations", accusing China of destabilising the region.
China should respect the Taiwan people's choice of a free and democratic way of life and refrain from military provocations, Taiwan's Presidential Office said on Monday.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said that China deployed 125 military aircraft during the exercises, a record for a single day.
It said 90 aircraft, including warplanes, helicopters and drones, were detected inside Taiwan's air defence identification zone.
Beijing, which views Taiwan as its territory, said the "Joint Sword-2024B" drills were "successfully completed" on Monday night, local time.
"Always on high alert, troops of the theatre command keep strengthening combat readiness with arduous training, and will foil the 'Taiwan Independence separatist attempts'," military spokesperson Li Xi said in a statement.
The European Union said on Monday that China's military activities around Taiwan further escalated "cross-strait tensions".
In a statement, the bloc urged both parties to show restraint and resolve tensions through dialogue.
Tensions rise after Taiwan's National Day speech
The latest military action follows a National Day speech by Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te in which he reiterated that China had no right to represent Taiwan.
Mr Lai also extended an offer to work with Beijing to combat challenges like climate change, but the Chinese government swiftly rejected it.
Chinese state media has since intensified criticism of Mr Lai, accusing him of advocating for independence.
The drills are "focusing on subjects of sea-air combat-readiness patrol, blockade on key ports and areas", said Captain Li Xi, spokesman for the Chinese military's Eastern Theater Command.
The Chinese military said the drills aimed to show China's ability to stop energy imports, especially at its ports offloading liquefied natural gas (LNG), military expert Zhang Chi of China's National Defence University told the state-backed Global Times.
"The People's Liberation Army wants to prove that we have the ability to block the import of energy resources for Taiwan, thereby having an important impact on the economy and society," the newspaper quoted Mr Zhang as saying.
Fighter jets and warships had been deployed, Chinese state media said.
However, there were no reports of live-fire exercises or no-fly zones, a contrast to 2022 when China fired missiles over Taiwan after a visit by then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Taiwan's security chief said on Monday that China's military drills around the island were "inconsistent with international law".
Taiwan and International responses
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense dispatched its own forces to monitor the situation, stressing the island's commitment to maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait.
President Lai, despite Beijing's hostility, continues to advocate for cooperation on issues like climate change, while reiterating that only Taiwan's people can decide their future.
This is the second major military exercise this year, following the "Joint Sword-2024A" drills in May, shortly after Mr Lai took office.
Despite these tensions, Mr Lai has consistently offered to engage in dialogue with Beijing, though these efforts have been rebuffed.
In Washington, officials from the administration of US President Joe Biden said there was no justification for the drills after Lai's "routine" speech.
"We call on the PRC 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," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, using the initials for the People's Republic of China, China's official name.
Monday's drills represent its fourth round of large-scale war games in the past two years.
Calm on the streets
Sana Hashmi, a fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, believes the lack of a specified end date for the drills is deliberate, intended to create uncertainty.
"The logic is to keep people on edge, wondering if the situation might escalate," she told the ABC, adding that China was using the exercises as a "strong deterrence" against any pro-independence movements in Taiwan.
She downplayed the likelihood of the drills escalating further, noting they had become routine since Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
"China is clearly trying to normalise its military activities," she explained.
"The issue is less about Taiwan's leadership and more about China's broader strategy to change the status quo," she added.
"Exercises like this don't happen spontaneously, though. The Chinese had been planning them for some time and just used the words of the speech as an excuse," said Mark Canian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, based in Washington.
Ivy Kwek, a research fellow at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies, said China's latest military exercises follow a familiar pattern.
"China has normalised using military drills to show displeasure over Taiwan’s 'undesirable' actions," she told ABC News.
"The lack of an end date and the added alphabetical suffix aim to keep things unpredictable, allowing China to flex its muscle and send a warning."
Despite the military activity, daily life in Taiwan continues largely uninterrupted.
"I won't panic too much because they often have drills," engineer Benjamin Hsiao, 34, told the AFP news agency in Taipei.
"It's not the first time in recent years, so I feel a bit numb," he added.
