The People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command on Monday (October 14) announced military exercises around Taiwan. The exercises will be called Joint Sword-2024B.
The exercises are said to involve the army, navy, air force and rocket force of the PLA, and will be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and to the north, east and south of the island, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News. The drills will focus on joint sea-air combat readiness-patrol, the blockade and control of key ports and area, strikes on sea and land targets and the seizure of comprehensive battlefield controls.
In response, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said that: “[We] strongly condemn the PLA’s irrational and provocative actions and will deploy appropriate forces to respond and defend our national sovereignty.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office in a statement to media said: “[T]here is a broad consensus among the international community on the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region. China should face the reality of the existence of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and respect the Taiwanese people’s choice of a democratic and free way of life. It should cease military provocations that undermine regional peace and stability, and stop threatening Taiwan’s democracy and freedom.”
Speaking to reporters at an Institute for National Policy Research event this morning, head of the National Security Council Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) stated that a high-level national security meeting has already been held.
Wu said the exercise doesn’t comply with international regulations requiring prior notice. Additionally, using military force to threaten other countries contradicts the basic spirit of the UN Charter, which advocates for peaceful resolution of disputes.
Taiwan’s military also put out a propaganda video this morning in which it said “our determination to defend our national sovereignty remains unchanged.”
Taiwanese and American officials had begun to predict the exercises would take place starting a week ago. It was expected that Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) Taiwan’s National Day speech on Thursday would be used as a pretext. Chinese media had heavily criticized the speech. However, the announcement from the Eastern Theater Command only references that the drills are “a powerful deterrent to the separatist activities of Taiwan independence elements.”
During Chinese State Media CCTV’s exclusive coverage of the exercise, General Meng Xiangqing (孟祥青) of the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University said, “Taiwan independence is an evil path, it’s a dead end, and these exercises are like ropes that will choke the Taiwan separatists to death.” He added that Lai’s recent speeches are “brainwashing, and that Beijing needs to treat Lai more cautiously as he is a stubborn Taiwan separatist.”
Speaking previously on October 8, Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) called on China to conduct its military drills in its own jurisdiction, exercise restraint and avoid actions “that disrupt regional security and security in the Indo-Pacific region,” according to Taiwanese state media CNA.
Taiwanese authorities announced that 13 Chinese military aircraft on Thursday entered Taiwan’s ADIZ, a region around Taiwan which is not territorial airspace but serves as a “warning buffer.” Thirteen aircraft is not an unusually high number this year, but does mark the first ADIZ incursion of October. It’s likely that the period of relative quiet preceding Taiwan’s National Day was at least in part caused by Typhoon Krathon.
On Thursday evening, China conducted a civilian satellite launch from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan, which crossed Taiwan’s ADIZ. Such launches are not unusual, and, although the timing will raise eyebrows, there is no evidence it is deliberate.
Yesterday, China’s Liaoning carrier strike group passed through the Bashi channel between Taiwan and the Philippines. The PLA Eastern Theater Command confirmed that the group is taking part in exercises to the east of Taiwan.
In the map released by the Chinese military, six zones of activity are shown, in comparison to five for Joint Sword-2024A, the exercises carried out in May after Lai’s inauguration as president. However, the six zones are smaller. After the “A” exercises, Taiwan’s military released their own maps depicting smaller zones of actual activity by the PLA. Additionally, there is activity shown around Taiwan’s Matsu and Wuqiu islands. Analyst Erik Green pointed out on X that no activity depicted around Kinmen is a notable difference between the maps.
Nonetheless, this morning Taiwanese Coast Guard units apprehended a solitary intruder on Menghu Island near Kinmen, describing the individual as a “Chinese illegal immigrant,” who reached Menghu in an inflatable boat. The Coast Guard said it cannot rule out that this may be a form of “gray zone harassment” in conjunction with Joint Sword-2024B.
Separately, the China Coast Guard released a “map” which depicts four “fleets” of vessels sailing around Taiwan and apparently hugging the contiguous zone (an area of water next to Taiwan’s territorial sea). It’s important to note that each fleet appears to be named after a specific Chinese Coast Guard ship. Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration confirmed to media that the fleets contain more than one ship each.
Whereas previous maps of exercise zones released by the Chinese military have subsequently been confirmed to broadly represent the areas they were active in, this image showing the coast guard surrounding Taiwan is far more likely to be symbolic and intended solely to alarm. The China Coast Guard also announced that it had “carried out law enforcement inspections in the waters surrounding Taiwan Island.” When similar drills were announced last year, there was no evidence any inspections were actually conducted.
The PLA Eastern Theater Command also released a propaganda video yesterday, showing Chinese forces engaged in rocket launches and amphibious landings.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry held an emergency press conference on Monday afternoon to brief on the situation of the Joint Sword 2024B exercise. Deputy Chief of the Intelligence Department, Hsieh Jih-Sheng (謝日升), reported that as of 4:30 p.m., they had detected 125 Chinese military aircraft, with 90 of them crossing into Taiwan’s ADIZ. Additionally, 17 warships and 17 Coast Guard vessels were observed in the waters around Taiwan.
Brigadier General Yu Chian-chang (于健昌), Director of the Human Rights Protection Division of the Legal Affairs Bureau, emphasized that the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway. He said China’s designation of exercise zones for their military drills infringes on other countries’ rights to freedom of navigation and overflight, violating the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He added that China’s attempt to treat the Taiwan Strait and surrounding areas as waters under its jurisdiction goes against international practice and international law.
At 6:00 p.m. today, the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command declared the blockade-style military exercise “successfully completed.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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