Taiwan: "Annual Military Drills Aim to Prevent China from Crossing the Taiwan Strait"

On the 20th (local time), a rehearsal for the Taiwanese military's F-16 fighter jet training was held in New Taipei, Taiwan. Amid rising military tensions between the two sides (China and Taiwan), the Taiwanese military will conduct the Han Kuang military exercises, a five-day drill to prepare for a potential Chinese invasion, starting from the 24th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Taiwanese government has reported that the goal of this year's annual military exercise is to prevent China from crossing the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwanese media such as China Times reported on the 23rd that Ku Li-hsiung, Secretary of the National Security Council (NSC), stated this in an interview on the online program of the daily Liberty Times on the 21st.

The Taiwan Strait, connecting the East China Sea and the South China Sea between China and Taiwan, is a strategic chokepoint approximately 400 km long and 150?200 km wide. The narrowest point is about 130 km wide.

Secretary Ku explained that the Han Kuang exercises, the annual drills conducted over five days starting from the 24th to prepare for a Chinese military invasion, are intended to verify power preservation, overall air defense and joint interception, and homeland defense operations.

He emphasized that if China suddenly invades Taiwan, Taiwan's air defense and maritime interception response capabilities are sufficient.

He added that the goal of the exercises is to prevent China from crossing the Taiwan Strait.

Secretary Ku explained that China has launched a two-pronged public opinion campaign aimed at interfering in Taiwan's presidential election in January next year, focusing on "disliking the ruling party" and "distrust of the United States."

To this end, China is attempting to manipulate public opinion by distorting existing Taiwanese news, utilizing creators on various social networking services (SNS) such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, as well as wanghong (Chinese online influencers), and employing AI and deepfake technologies.

Therefore, he stressed that the public must have the ability to discern truth from falsehood, and the government will continuously track these activities.

Earlier, legislators from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) held a press conference on the 21st, revealing that China has launched a "six-step plan" (六部曲) to interfere in the upcoming Taiwanese presidential election.

This refers to six major methods: ▲ Chinese military aircraft entering Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) ▲ banning exports of Taiwanese agricultural and fishery products to China ▲ election interference by pro-unification forces (with China) ▲ providing airfare subsidies for pro-China individuals to vote in the presidential election ▲ infiltration of military units by Chinese spy organizations ▲ and overt suppression by the Chinese diplomatic system.