The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has launched a two-day large-scale military drill surrounding the island of Taiwan.
At least 14 warships from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China have been detected around Taiwan. The CCP called the military exercises a stern warning to separatists and external interference forces.
The CCP’s military drills will last for two days and live fire drills around Taiwan are expected.
Taiwan has placed its forces on alert and deployed fighters in response to the CCP’s military encirclement of the island.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-Fang said, “Because we must take appropriate measures under the premise of ensuring our national security and sovereignty. As this confrontation continues to escalate, the risk of conflict between the two sides will only continue to accumulate.”
“Any attempt to resolve differences or disputes through coercion is unacceptable. Recent experiences have shown that the CCP is continuously increasing the pressure it exerts on us,” Sun added.
NTD spoke with retired US Marine Colonel Grant Newsham, a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy with decades of experience in the Indo-Pacific.
According to Colonel Newsham, these military drills are meant to prevent Taiwanese allies from coming to the defense of Taiwan in the case of a potential invasion.
“The Chinese are putting in a lot of effort this time, to the east of the island of Formosa, the east of Taiwan, and that’s where the help is going to come from. Additionally, they have really tightened up the coverage of the west side and particularly main civilian ports,” Colonel Newsham said.
“And the idea is to really tighten this noose around Taiwan and not just practice but rehearse for the day that comes where they’re going to say, this is it.”
For Colonel Newsom, one of the key indicators that Beijing will be looking at in order to decide whether or not to invade Taiwan will be the political climate in Washington DC.
“I think one thing that the Chinese watch very closely is the state of affairs in Washington DC. Is there a lot of fighting going on within Washington or in America in the political class?”
“Is the society unified or is it being torn apart to have half of the country or at least half of the political class that thinks the current administration is Lucifer incarnate?” Colonel Newsham added.
