China reaffirmed, Monday October 14, following military maneuvers to encircle Taiwan, that it would “never” abandon the option of “use of force” to retake the island territory. “We are ready to work for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and with all our efforts, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force and we will never leave the slightest space to those who campaign for independence of Taiwan,” Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Chinese defense ministry, reported in a statement. Earlier in the day, Beijing deployed planes and warships to encircle Taiwan, as part of military maneuvers presented as a “serious warning” to the island’s “separatist” authorities and which arouse concern in Washington. China considers Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified. Beijing declared on Monday that it had “successfully completed” its military exercises around Taiwan, which began the same day. She added that these maneuvers had “fully tested the integrated joint operations capabilities of its troops”. “The troops… remain on constant alert, continue to strengthen their combat readiness through intensive training, and will firmly thwart all separatist attempts to achieve Taiwan’s independence,” said Li Xi, a senior official. spokesperson for the Chinese army. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers People’s China doubts, seventy-five years after its founding Add to your selections “Fighters, bombers” and other attack planes have been deployed, as well as “several destroyers and frigates”, a specified Chinese public television CCTV. These exercises come a few days after a speech by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who pledged Thursday to “resist the Chinese annexation” of the island or “the encroachment of [sa] sovereignty”. His comments are regularly considered by Beijing as pro-independence. “In the face of external threats, I would like to assure my compatriots that the government will continue to defend the democratic and free constitutional system, protect a democratic Taiwan and safeguard national security,” Mr. Lai said in a message posted on Facebook on Monday. . State of “heightened alert” “Taiwanese independence and peace in the Taiwan Strait [qui sépare le territoire insulaire de la Chine continentale] are two completely incompatible things,” warned Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the afternoon. “The provocations of those campaigning for the independence of Taiwan will inevitably be the subject of retaliatory measures,” she warned during a regular press briefing. The Chinese exercises, called “Joint Sword-2024B”, are taking place in areas located to the north, south and east of the island of Taiwan, explained the captain of the Chinese army Li Xi. They “focus on sea-air combat readiness patrols, the blockade of ports and key areas” or even “the assault of maritime and land targets”, he added. Taiwan detected 125 Chinese planes near the island on Monday, a defense ministry official said, citing a “record for a single day.” The Taiwanese defense ministry denounced “irrational and provocative behavior” from Beijing, ensuring that it had “deployed the adequate forces to react appropriately with the aim of protecting freedom and democracy, as well as to defend the sovereignty” of Taiwan . “Faced with the enemy threat, all the country’s officers and soldiers are ready,” he added in a statement. Without making a clear link with the ongoing maneuvers, the Taiwanese coast guard announced on Monday that it had arrested a Chinese national after a possible “intrusion” in Kinmen – an island in the immediate vicinity of the Chinese city of Xiamen . Taiwanese islands on the outskirts of the main island, such as Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, are on a state of “heightened alert”, he said. Infographics department, Le Monde. Execrable relations between Beijing and Taipei The Chinese coast guard, for their part, explained that they had initiated “inspections of the maintenance of order in the waters surrounding the island of Taiwan”. “Several boats” crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, in reference to the line, not recognized by Beijing, which cuts the maritime space between the island and mainland China in two, the Taiwanese coast guard said. Le Monde Application La Matinale du Monde Every morning, find our selection of 20 articles not to be missed Download the application The United States, which had warned on Friday against any “provocation” from Beijing towards Taipei after acrimonious exchanges between the two neighbors, denounced “unjustified” operations which represent a “risk of escalation”. Since 1979, Washington has recognized Beijing to the detriment of Taipei as the only legitimate Chinese power, but remains Taiwan’s most powerful ally and its main arms supplier. “We call on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid any action that could further escalate tensions across the Strait [entre Taïwan et la Chine continentale]which must be resolved through dialogue,” said a spokesperson for the diplomatic service of the European Union, Nabila Massrali, in a statement. China accuses the current Taiwanese authorities of wanting to deepen the cultural separation between the island and the continent. In response, it increased its pressure on the island, in particular by strengthening its military activity around the territory. Beijing has organized three rounds of large-scale maneuvers in the past two years, using its air force and navy to encircle the island. On Sunday, the Taiwanese army claimed to be “on alert” after detecting the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning to the south of the island. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The Taiwanese president takes the risk of a firm speech against China Add to your selections Relations between Beijing and Taipei have been execrable since 2016 and the arrival as Taiwanese president of Tsai Ing-wen, then of his successor, Lai Ching-te, in 2024. Invested in May, Mr. Lai pledged Thursday to “resist the Chinese annexation” of the island or “the encroachment of [sa] sovereignty”, on Taiwan’s National Day. Beijing reacted by warning that the Taiwanese president’s “provocations” would lead to a “disaster” for his people. Disputes between Beijing and Taipei date back to the long civil war which pitted communist fighters led by Mao Zedong against the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek. Defeated by the communists, who founded the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949, the nationalists took refuge with many civilians in Taiwan, one of the only parts of the national territory then not conquered by the forces of Mao Zedong. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In Taiwan, a fiction to prepare minds for a Chinese invasion Add to your selections Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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