China's military on Tuesday said it had begun joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence", calling Taiwan's President
China's military on Tuesday said it had begun joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence", calling Taiwan's President Lai Ching-Te a "parasite".
More than 10 Chinese military ships have approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4 kilometre) contiguous zone, and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwan officials told Reuters.
Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said.
The exercises around the democratically governed island, which China views as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring under its control, come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month.
China detests Lai as a "separatist," and in a video accompanying the Eastern Theater Command's announcement depicted him as cartoon bug held by a pair of chopsticks above a burning Taiwan.
"The focus is on exercises such as combat readiness patrols at sea and in the air, seizing comprehensive control, striking maritime and land targets and imposing blockade controls on key areas and routes," the Eastern Theater Command said on its official WeChat social media
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