China’s Strike Drill Against Taiwan

China sent warplanes and navy vessels towards Taiwan in a strike drill on January 8, three days after China had criticized the United States for “undermining peace and stability” by sailing a warship through the Taiwan Strait.

Monitoring the U.S.: On January 5, the People’s Liberation Army (pla) said it had organized its troops to monitor and guard a U.S. warship that sailed through the Taiwan Strait. According to the pla’s Eastern Command, “all movements were under control.”

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer uss Chung-Hoon (ddg 93) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit January 5 (local time) through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law. The ship transited through a corridor in the strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state.
—U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

In response, Chinese Minister-counselor Liu Pengyu said the U.S. needs to “immediately stop provoking troubles” and “escalating tensions.”

Strike drill: Three days later, on January 8, China preformed a strike drill against Taiwan.

• From 6 a.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday, the pla sent 57 warplanes and four ships toward Taiwan.
• Twenty-eight of the planes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary between the two countries.
• China’s “primary target was to practice land-strikes and sea assaults,” according to pla spokesperson Shi Yi.

Weak-willed America: The more strike drills China can perform without receiving reproach from the United States, the bolder its threats toward Taiwan become. America is trying to show China that it still has a presence in the Western Pacific and a determination to keep the shipping lanes in the region open and free, but China has no respect for this fact.

How could anyone fail to see that Taiwan is destined to become a part of mainland China? These 21 million people are going to be forced into the Chinese mold; and it is going to happen for one reason: because of a pitifully weak-willed America.
—Gerald Flurry, Trumpet editor in chief

Learn more: Read “Taiwan Betrayal.”