China says it takes ‘necessary measures’ to defend sovereignty over Taiwan

TAIPEI - China said on Dec 11 it takes “necessary measures” to defend the country’s sovereignty and will not tolerate “separatist” activities, as Taiwan reported another rise in Chinese warplanes around the island and called on Beijing to halt provocations.

China’s military has yet to comment and has not confirmed that it is carrying out any military exercises.

A senior Taiwanese official said Taiwan believed the surge in activity was meant to send a political message to the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

A security diplomat in the region briefed on the matter told Reuters that the scale and size of the ongoing Chinese operations, including the manpower being dispatched, was “unheard of” in recent years.

“We have not seen anything like this in at least the past few years,” they said, citing their country’s assessment while declining to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, had been expected to launch drills to express its anger at

President Lai Ching-te’s tour of the Pacific

that ended on Dec 6, and which included stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam.

“We will absolutely not let things go unchecked,” Ms Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said when asked about the increased military activities.

“We take necessary measures to resolutely defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

China’s government was “highly vigilant to the trend of separatist Taiwan forces colluding with external forces”, she said at a regular news briefing in Beijing. 

On Dec 10,

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said China was deploying its largest navy fleet

in regional waters in nearly three decades, posing a threat to Taiwan that is more pronounced than previous Chinese war games.

A US military official said China’s naval deployments in the East China Sea and South China Sea are elevated but consistent with other large exercises in the past.

A senior Taiwan security official, offering the government’s assessment of China’s activities, told a briefing in Taipei it took China’s military nearly 70 days to plan and deploy the current sea operations and that they were meant as a response to the incoming Trump government and US allies, rather than specifically Mr Lai’s visit to the Pacific.

“They are trying to draw a red line and exert authority for the new master of the White House,” the official said, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was “extremely rare” for China to deploy sea operations of such scale at this time of the year when sea conditions are usually rough, the official said.

Taiwan’s government believes China decided not to announce the drills possibly because Beijing is trying to minimise the impact on two major events with Taiwanese businessmen and politicians, one taking place this week and another next week, the official added.

“It’s a carrot and stick approach,” the official said, pointing to Beijing’s annual charm offensive programmes towards Taiwan, including a visit to Taipei by one of Shanghai’s deputy mayors set for next week.

On Dec 11, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said it detected 53 military aircraft operating around the island over the past 24 hours, as well as 11 navy vessels and eight “official” ships, which refers to vessels from ostensibly civilian agencies such as the coast guard.

Taiwan’s military had gone on alert on Dec 9 after saying China had reserved airspace and deployed naval and coast guard vessels.

Mr Lai and his government reject Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

Presidential office spokeswoman Karen Kuo said in a statement that China’s military actions were a “blatant disruption” of regional stability and Beijing should immediately stop all “provocative acts”.

It is customary for Taiwanese presidents to go overseas, and “Taiwan’s normal international exchanges with other countries are not an excuse for China’s provocations”, she added.

Beijing says the Taiwan issue is the "core of its core interests" and a red line the US should not cross.

China has held two rounds of major war games around Taiwan so far in 2024. REUTERS