![China holds military drills around Taiwan as 'punishment'](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/c1/9a/c8/China-holds-military-drills-around--112677.jpg)
-
US defends law forcing sale of TikTok app
-
Messi out for defending champ Miami as Leagues Cup begins
-
Australia bans uranium mining at Indigenous site
-
Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker
-
Trump accuses Harris of anti-Semitism in overblown speech
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese foreign minister in Laos
-
Coughlin clings to lead at LPGA Canadian Women's Open
-
Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election
-
Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
-
What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
-
Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
Concern grows as Venezuela blocks election observers
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Blinken, in Laos, set for talks with Chinese foreign minister
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
G20 pledges to work together to tax ultra-rich
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
Stocks rise as US inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
Norris hoping for more after topping Belgian practice times
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Harris gets vital Obama backing in battle against Trump
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Stocks rise as inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
![China holds military drills around Taiwan as 'punishment'](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/c1/9a/c8/China-holds-military-drills-around--112677.jpg)
China holds military drills around Taiwan as 'punishment'
China on Thursday launched two days of military drills to surround self-ruled Taiwan in what it said was "strong punishment" for the island's "separatist acts".
The drills come after Lai Ching-te was sworn in as Taiwan's new president this week and made an inauguration speech that China denounced as a "confession of independence".
Communist China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to bring the island under its rule, by force if necessary.
Thursday and Friday's drills involve military aircraft and naval vessels surrounding the island.
This will "test the joint real combat capabilities of the forces of the command", the Chinese military said.
Taiwan responded quickly to China's announcement on Thursday morning, announcing it had deployed forces to "defend freedom".
"The Ministry of National Defence strongly condemned such irrational provocations and actions that undermine regional peace and stability.
"We have dispatched sea, air and ground forces to respond... to defend freedom, democracy and the sovereignty of the Republic of China," it said, referring to Taiwan by its official name.
On Tuesday, China warned of strong reprisals to Lai's speech, in which he hailed a "glorious" new era of democracy for Taiwan.
Top diplomat Wang Yi also warned that Taiwanese "separatists will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history".
China had previously branded Lai a "dangerous separatist" who would bring "war and decline" to the island.
- 'Joint Sword-2024A' -
China's drills will "focus on joint sea-air combat-readiness patrol, joint seizure of comprehensive battlefield control, and joint precision strikes on key targets", spokesman for the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command Naval Colonel Li Xi said.
They are taking place in the Taiwan Strait and to the north, south and east of the island and kicked off at 7:45 am (2345 GMT), Li said.
This week's drills will also take place around the outlying islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin, he added.
"Ships and aircraft arrived at combat patrols near Taiwan Island... to test the actual joint combat capabilities of the theatre forces," Li said.
The drills would also serve as a "strong punishment for the separatist acts of 'Taiwan independence' forces and a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces", he said.
Beijing, which split with Taipei at the end of a civil war in 1949, regards the island as a renegade province with which it must eventually be reunified and has refused to rule out using military force to do so.
Relations have plunged in recent years as China has stepped up pressure on the democratic island, periodically stoking worries about a potential invasion.
- 'Real combat conditions' -
Beijing "clearly feels it needs to send a very strong message to Lai and anyone who supports him", analyst Bill Bishop wrote in his influential Sinocism newsletter.
"I would be surprised if this new exercise is smaller and less threatening than any last year," he said.
The last time China announced similar military exercises around Taiwan was in August 2023 after Lai, then vice president, stopped over in the United States on a visit to Paraguay.
Those drills also tested the PLA's ability "to seize control of air and sea spaces" and fight "in real combat conditions", according to state media.
Beijing at the time described them as a "stern warning".
They followed on the heels of April drills that simulated the encirclement of the island, triggered after Lai's predecessor Tsai Ing-wen met then-US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
China also launched major military exercises in 2022 after Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the US House of Representatives, visited Taiwan.
The country also held drills when then-president Tsai later transited through the United States.
World powers are keen to see as much stability as possible between China and Taiwan, not least because of the vital role the island plays in the global economy.
The Taiwan Strait is one of the world's most important maritime trade arteries, and the island itself is a major tech manufacturer, particularly of vital semiconductors -- the tiny chips used in everything from smartphones to missile systems.
O.Krause--BTB