China prepared for any harm to sovereignty as Taiwan prepares drills to focus on combating blockade

TAIPEI – China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday that the authorities will be prepared and on high alert for any harm to China’s sovereignty and territory, following media reports of European Union calls for navy patrols in the Taiwan Strait.

On Sunday, in an opinion piece in French newspaper Le Journal Du Dimanche, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged European navies to patrol the Taiwan Strait.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military pressure over the past three years to try to assert its sovereignty claim.

Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang military drills

this year will focus on combating a blockade of the island and preserving the fighting ability of its forces, its Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

China practised precision strikes and blockading Taiwan in drills around the island in April that were staged after

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met United States House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy

in Los Angeles.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said the Han Kuang exercises would be split into two parts – table-top drills from May 15 to 19, and then mobilising forces from July 24 to 28 to include live-fire exercises.

The focus will be on combat forces “preservation” and “maritime interception”, it said.

That will include using civilian airports and dispersing air assets, as well as how to disguise forces on the ground, the ministry said.

The naval part will integrate sea, air and land forces to attack enemy forces and amphibious assault ships, and to protect sea lanes to counter blockade efforts, it added.

“Of course, our drills are based on the threat of the communists invading Taiwan and its recent military exercises around Taiwan,” the ministry’s combat planning chief, General Lin Wen-huang, told a news conference.

Beijing has

never renounced using force to bring the island under its control.

Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and has vowed to defend its freedom and democracy.

‘Strong navy’

China’s navy last week put out a slickly produced video to celebrate its 74th anniversary, showing its aircraft carrier, Shandong, and new amphibious assault ships simulating an attack and landing somewhere in “Western Pacific waters”, suggesting they were planning a Taiwan contingency.

“It takes a strong navy to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Ms Zhu Fenglian, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday when asked what the video’s message was.

“The Democratic Progressive Party authorities and Taiwan independence separatist forces are trying to collude with external forces, but there’s no chance of splitting the country,” she said, referring to Taiwan’s ruling party.

Taiwan is trying to boost its defensive capabilities by investing in new equipment such as long-range missiles and drones and by extending compulsory military service to one year.

Although Taiwan’s military is generally well trained and well equipped with mostly US-made hardware, China has huge numerical superiority and is adding advanced equipment such as stealth fighters.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Taiwan National Security Bureau director-general Tsai Ming-yen said China was using new “cognitive warfare” methods to try to sway public opinion and spread fake news ahead of January’s presidential elections.

“We need to continue paying attention to what they are up to during the election process,” he said. 

Taking lawmakers’ questions in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Tsai said the National Security Bureau had upgraded its computers to exchange real-time intelligence with the “Five Eyes” alliance of the US, Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

“We can connect with the ‘Five Eyes’ alliance through a confidential system,” he said without giving details. REUTERS