According to the Ministry of National Defense, from May 23 to 24, the eastern theater of the Chinese People's Liberation Army organized troops from the theater army, navy, air force, rocket corps and other forces to carry out the "Joint Sword 2024A" exercise around Weitai Island. Lieutenant Colonel Li Xi, spokesman of the Eastern Theater of War, said that this was a powerful punishment for the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces seeking "independence", and also a serious warning of interference and provocation by external forces.
Today (24th), the eastern theater of the Chinese People's Liberation Army continued to hold the "Joint Sword 2024A" exercise around Taiwan Island. The island chain was integrated inside and outside, and training was carried out in such subjects as ship aircraft coordination, sea assault, land attack, and so on, to test the practical combat capabilities of multi area coordination, joint attack, and so on.
The eastern theater of the Chinese People's Liberation Army continued to hold the "Joint Sword 2024A" exercise around Bitai Island. Source: CCTV News
On the same day, the Chinese Coast Guard 2304 fleet carried out a comprehensive law enforcement drill in the sea area east of Taiwan Island, focusing on training in subjects such as verification and identification, warning and displacement, and testing joint cruise and emergency response capabilities.
The Chinese Coast Guard 2304 fleet carried out a comprehensive law enforcement drill in the sea area east of Taiwan Island. Source: WeChat official account of "China Maritime Police"
Following yesterday (23rd), all services and arms in the eastern theater of operations of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and China's maritime law enforcement forces were once again "in the same frame" in the Taiwan Strait. Some analysts pointed out that, on the one hand, the PLA's warplanes and warships approached the sea and airspace around Taiwan to conduct war patrols (according to the Taiwan defense department, they were only 24 nautical miles away from the coast of Taiwan), thus highlighting that the waters around Taiwan Island are all territorial waters under the framework of China. In addition, the integrated strategic situation of integrated linkage is adopted inside and outside the "first island chain" to test the joint combat capability of the troops in the theater. On the other hand, Fujian Maritime Police Bureau organized the fleet to carry out comprehensive law enforcement drills in Wuqiu and the sea area near the Dongyin to test the capabilities of joint cruise, rapid response, emergency disposal, etc. It is also emphasized that the sea area around Wuqiu Island, Dongyin Island, Jinmen Island and Mazu Island is China's inland sea.
The Eastern Theater released the combined poster "Cross the Sea Killer". Source: WeChat official account of "Eastern Warzone"
The military exercises of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the comprehensive law enforcement exercises of the Chinese maritime police for two consecutive days have attracted great attention from all walks of life in Taiwan. Lai Qingde's office and the administrative departments, defense departments and coastal defense departments of the DPP authorities all responded urgently to this. However, the public opinion in the island is more dissatisfied and worried about Lai Qingde's "Taiwan independence" position.
Taiwan's "China Times" pointed out that the scope of this military exercise covers the whole Taiwan and the outlying islands. The situation is serious and should not be underestimated. Lai Qingde's inaugural speech undoubtedly aroused doubts among all parties. The most regrettable thing is that the fundamental law of the island, which could maintain cross-strait ties and stabilize the situation in the Taiwan Strait, has been used by Lai Qingde as a tool to fight against the mainland and promote "Taiwan independence", which reflects Lai Qingde and his staff's shallow understanding of cross-strait relations and the law.
The public opinion also pointed out that Lai Qingde's speech was full of lies and false news. Lai Qingde's authorities had expected that the PLA might be deterred by the military exercises. They spoke before "May 20" to create an atmosphere of "peace and common prosperity", but the PLA's efficient "cold start" capability obviously caught him off guard.
Taiwan's "United Daily" believes that the reason for this military exercise is Lai Qingde's attempt to "rely on the United States to seek independence", which actually led to the intensification of the Taiwan Strait conflict. Lai Qingde's so-called "two countries theory" overwhelmed the olive branch from the mainland, causing the PLA's military exercises to deter. Call on Lai Qingde not to "rely on beauty" to take chances and face reality squarely.
Taiwan's Industrial and Commercial Times published an article titled "The Mainland Surrounds Taiwan Military Exercises and the Taiwan Sea Is Afraid of Further Turbulence", and quoted CCTV as reporting that the PLA Navy's multiple destroyer formations are moving in multiple directions and at high speed to the waters around Taiwan. The Fujian Coast Guard is taking a detour around Wuqiu Island, indicating that the mainland seems to issue a warning. If the situation worsens, the previous "Golden Gate Model" may be used against Wuqiu Island Taiwan vessels passing through Dongyin Island boarded for law enforcement or entered the "prohibited waters", breaking the Taiwan authorities' perception of the "restricted waters" on the outer island.
Even the pro green media paid close attention to the military exercise, and reproduced the video of the PLA shouting on the platform ship released by CCTV news, which seemed to reveal their concern that Lai Qingde's "Taiwan independence" speech would undermine the peace and development between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits.
Sketch map of PLA exercise area.
Zhang Yanting, a retired general of the Taiwan Army, believes that the mainland has launched military exercises in a short period of time, which shows that the PLA is very powerful and beyond Taiwan's imagination. In addition, judging from the name of the military exercise "United Sword - 2024A", he judged that there might be "United Sword - 2024B" and "United Sword - 2024C" in the future, and the relevant exercises might be normalized
Xie Zhichuan, a commentator on current events in the island, said that the military exercise was swift and showed that the PLA was fully capable of blocking any export of Taiwan Island, which was also the "ultimatum" given to Lai Qingde by the mainland. Wang Shangzhi, a senior media person in the island, also said frankly that the military exercises around the island appeared faster than expected. It seems that the mainland is not just a "warning", but that cross-strait relations have entered a new state and stage since then.
Wu Chengdian, the chairman of the New Party and the former deputy head of Jinmen County, said that the people of Jinmen and Mazu were the people who most wanted peace across the Straits and could not have war. As for the inclusion of this military exercise, the people of Kinmen must feel uncomfortable and the pressure of relevant war preparedness will be very great. This is the result of Lai Qingde's adherence to the "Taiwan independence" consciousness and neglecting big things for small reasons. Wu Chengdian believes that the encirclement of the mainland military exercises basically shows that the mainland is firmly in control of Taiwan. No matter how the mainland exercises are conducted, can the United States speak out? So smart Taiwanese must not play this game with the United States again, which is very detrimental to Taiwan.
The Xinhua Macao News in Macao pointed out that on the day of the PLA's "Joint Sword 2024A" exercise, American Association in Taiwan (AIT) President Rosenberg, who went to Taiwan to attend Lai Qingde's inauguration ceremony, was still in Taiwan. Therefore, this exercise is not only to warn "Taiwan independence", but also to alert the United States. On the one hand, it is accused that the US pressure on Lai Qingde to "maintain the status quo" is "fake", and it is also suspected of "letting water" to Lai Qingde; On the other hand, it warns the United States not to collude with the forces of "Taiwan independence" to fund Lai Ching de's "relying on foreign countries to seek independence" and "taking advantage of foreign countries", otherwise it will suffer from its own consequences.
Hong Kong's "China Review Agency" also commented on the topic of "The United Sword Is Hanging High and Does Not Leave room for" Taiwan Independence ", saying that the exercise fully demonstrated the strong deterrent ability and regional rejection ability of the Mainland People's Liberation Army. The article believes that under the current situation, the "United Sword 2024A" military exercise around the platform in the eastern theater is only the first step for the mainland to deter and punish "Taiwan independence" after the "May 20". The next step of the mainland may not be what the outside world can guess. As for how big the action is, it depends on the reaction of the new DPP authorities and what external forces will do in the Taiwan Strait in the future.
So, when and under what circumstances will the mainland go from military exercises on the platform to decisive action? Chen Binhua, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the People's Republic of China, said on the 23rd that the PLA exercises around Taiwan Island are a firm punishment for Taiwan leaders' "May 20" speech to seek "independence" provocation, a stern warning for foreign forces to connive at supporting "Taiwan independence" and interfere in China's internal affairs, a just act to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. If the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces are determined to act or even take risks, The mainland will resolutely smash the separatist plot of "Taiwan independence" and firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
On the 24th, Wu Qian, spokesman of the Ministry of Defense, also answered questions from reporters about the joint exercise around Bitai Island in the eastern theater. Wu Qian said that when Taiwan leaders took office, they seriously challenged the one China principle, openly sold the "two countries theory", and tried to "seek independence by force" and "seek independence by relying on foreign countries", pushing Taiwan compatriots into a dangerous situation of war. This is just playing with fire. Those who play with fire will burn themselves.
Taiwan is China's Taiwan. How to solve the Taiwan issue is the business of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people. The Chinese People's Liberation Army defends national sovereignty and territorial integrity with practical actions. Once "Taiwan independence" provokes, our counter-measures will be further advanced until the complete reunification of the motherland is achieved.
Source: CCTV News, Taiwan United Daily, Hong Kong China News Agency, etc
Author: Lai Chenlu, chief writer of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News
