On December 29th and 30th Taiwan’s defense ministry detected 89 military aircraft and 28 warships participating in firing drills around Taiwan. The Chinese military participated in many firing drills as China moved parts of the PLA Army, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, and Coast Guard to surround Taiwan. China conducted live firing in seven zones around Taiwan, which marked the largest exercises to date. China’s military also launched missiles and rockets as part of their drills. Due to China’s exercises, Taiwan remained on high alert during the period. Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications stated that hundreds of flights were cancelled, affecting tens of thousands of passengers on both international and domestic flights.
Chinese embassies have stated that they wish to unify China and create “One China” and the drills could be a part of their plan to unify Taiwan with China. Xi Jinping has claimed that unification is inevitable. However, most Taiwanese people have stated in various polls that they want to keep the status quo. Currently, Taiwan is a democracy with its own military, government, and economy, so most wish to maintain those institutions. Nationalists fled and took control of Taiwan in 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was founded, and Taiwan held a UN seat until 1971. However, most Taiwanese people do not want to claim formal independence because of the threat China poses to them. Furthermore, only a few countries currently recognize Taiwan as an independent state.
What triggered Operation Justice?
The attacks occurred just eleven days after an $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan from the US, the largest ever in the island’s history. The deal drew protests from China’s defense ministry, with warnings that the military would take forceful measures. Taiwan’s defense ministry posted a video on Facebook showing its new weapons, including the US-made HIMARS rocket system, which has a 300-kilometer (186-mile) range and covers several regions in China’s Fujian province. In response, China’s defense ministry released a video featuring humanoid robots, weaponized robot dogs, and microdrones. Additionally, China’s state broadcaster said the exercises were focused on sealing off two of the island’s port cities, Keelung in the north, and Kaohsiung in the south.
Chieh Chung, a researcher at Taiwan’s Institute of National Defense and Security Research, said, “They are sending a strong message on external interference.” He also explained how China cut off links to Japan to the north for three zones. On the other hand, Fu Zhengyuan, a researcher at China’s Academy of Military Science, claimed that increased communication between Taiwan and the US posed a threat, thereby justifying the attacks. Now that both China and Taiwan are engaged in a developing arms race, the exercises could rapidly escalate, leading to a much longer conflict, especially given China’s fear of US involvement.
