China declares it is ready to smash 'any form of Taiwan independence' after 'sealing off' the island with 12 warships and 91 jets in huge military exercise.
China has completed three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan
Exercises similar to ones from China last year when Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan
Military experts say the exercises serve both as intimidation and practice
China's military has declared it is 'ready to fight and smash Taiwanese independence' after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around the self-governing island nation.
The 'combat readiness patrols' named Joint Sword were meant as a warning to Taiwan, the Chinese military said, and simulated completely sealing off the island in a military blockade.
The theatre's troops are ready to fight at all times and can fight at any time to resolutely smash any form of ''Taiwan independence'' and foreign interference attempts,' it said Monday.
The exercises were similar to ones conducted by Beijing last August, when it launched missile strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan in retaliation for then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island - seen by Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of China.
Military experts say the exercises serve both as intimidation and as an opportunity for Chinese troops to practice sealing off Taiwan by blocking sea and air traffic, an important strategic option the Chinese military might pursue in the event it uses military force to take Taiwan.
China's military has declared it is 'ready to fight and smash Taiwanese independence' after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around the self-governing island nation.
The Ministry of National Defence of Taiwan tweets a video showing Chinese PLA ships and planes in their territory, with caption: 70 PLA aircraft and 11 vessels were detected by 16:00(UTC+8) April 9th. 35 of the detected aircraft had crossed northern, central, and southern median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered our southwest ADIZ .
Beijing's war games were launched amid Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's delicate mission to shore up her nation's dwindling diplomatic alliances in Central America and boost its U.S. support.
Tsai met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week, before a U.S. congressional delegation reconvened with her over the weekend in Taiwan upon her return home.
China responded immediately to the McCarthy meeting by imposing a travel ban and financial sanctions against those associated with Tsai's U.S. trip and with increased military activity through the weekend.
Beijing says contact between foreign officials and the island's democratic government encourages Taiwanese movements who want formal independence from China, a step China's ruling Communist Party says would lead to war.
The sides split in 1949 after a civil war, and the Communist Party says the island is obliged to rejoin the mainland, by force if necessary.
' China wants to use any increase of diplomatic interactions between the U.S. and Taiwan as an excuse to train its military,' said Kuo Yu-jen, a defence studies expert and director of the Institute for National Policy Research in Taiwan.
After Pelosi visited Taiwan last year, China conducted missiles strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan, while also sending warships and war planes over the median line of the Taiwan Strait. It also fired missiles over the island itself which landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone, in a significant escalation.