Chinese military forces announced the start of live-fire exercises surrounding the island of Taiwan to demonstrate a “stern warning” against Taiwanese independence and “external interference” on Monday.
The exercise, code-named Justice Mission – 2025 by China’s Eastern Theater Command, launched air, ground, and sea combat assets to test military preparedness in the event of an armed conflict in the East China Sea.
The Chinese Command announced on Monday the commencement of “major military drills” to “blockade and control key ports and critical areas”, including live-fire activities that will take place in five maritime and airspace zones encircling the island on Tuesday.
The Taiwanese government responded by condemning the maneuvers, calling the Chinese actions “military intimidation”, and alerting the island’s defense ministry to be “fully on guard” during the Chinese exercises.
The exercises also come as the Chinese government looks west to keep a watchful eye on events in the Caribbean concerning the U.S. military build-up around Venezuela.
China has previously condemned the U.S. blockade of the Venezuelan coastline and the seizure of several oil tankers in the Caribbean, calling the actions by the U.S. military “serious violations of international law”, while coming to the South American nation’s defense during an emergency meeting at the U.N. Security Council in New York City last week.
The Chinese government could likely use any future U.S. intervention in Venezuela as a precedent in an effort to further its aim of absorbing the island of Taiwan into the Chinese orbit.
