China’s Taiwan Military Drills Highlight its Ambition to Control the Western Pacific

Taiwan warned Tuesday that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP)’s military exercises are not only a rehearsal for an invasion of Taiwan, but also reflect its ambition to control large swathes of the western Pacific. In preparation for self-defense, Taiwan’s military held a live-fire artillery drills in Pingtung County on Tuesday.

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said the Chinese military exercises revealed that its ‘geostrategic ambition beyond Taiwan’. In addition to the annexation of Taiwan, the CCP also wants to establish its dominance in the Western Pacific. Wu said at a news conference in Taipei, that this would include controlling the East and South China Seas through the Taiwan Strait and imposing a blockade to prevent the United States and its allies from providing aid in the event of an attack on Taiwan. He added, “China has no right to interfere in or alter” Taiwan’s democracy or its interactions with other nations.

Angered by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Aug 2nd, the CCP has sent warships and planes across the median line separating the Taiwan Strait and fired missiles into the waters around the island. The military exercises that began on Thursday disrupted flights and shipping in one of the world’s most traded regions.

China ignored calls to de-escalate tensions and instead extended the drills without announcing when they would end.