China conducted military drills around land and sea for 2 days after Taiwan’s Lai Ching-Te took office and sworn in as President. China performed the drill to show how it would capture Taiwan as it has claimed that Taiwan is part of China and they would eventually capture the island. The drill involved circling the island and performing a full scale simulation of what an attack would look like . Bombers with live missiles were part of the drill which communicated with the warships and demonstrated how a full scale orchestrated attack at Taiwan would look like.
Historical Background
- Early History: Taiwan, also known as Formosa, had various rulers, including indigenous peoples, Dutch colonizers, and the Qing Dynasty.
- Japanese Rule: Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895 after the First Sino-Japanese War and remained under Japanese rule until the end of World War II in 1945.
- Post-War Period: After Japan’s defeat, Taiwan was placed under the administrative control of the Republic of China (ROC), then led by the Kuomintang (KMT) government.
Chinese Civil War and the ROC’s Retreat
- Civil War: The Chinese Civil War (1927-1949) saw the KMT fighting against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
- 1949: The CCP emerged victorious, establishing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland. The KMT retreated to Taiwan, maintaining the ROC government there.
The Dispute
- PRC’s Claim: The PRC claims Taiwan as a province, part of its territory under the “One China” principle, asserting that there is only one China, which includes Taiwan.
- ROC’s Position: Initially, the ROC also claimed to be the legitimate government of all China. Over time, its stance evolved, with increasing support within Taiwan for maintaining the status quo or seeking formal independence.
Current Situation and Increasing Tensions
The reason for the sudden reaction by China was Lai’s speech where he used the word “China” . China claims that Taiwan is part of China and by using the word China he has advocated a separatist ideology and is against their One China policy where PRC considers Taiwan to be part of One China. Lai’s speech has been termed as reckless and it appears like Lai has crossed the line which previous president were wary of and were very careful in thier speeches refering to China. The DPP is the current ruling party in Taiwan which is pro independence and oppostion par KMT is China friendly. The intention of China seems to fighten the people of Taiwan into voting for pro china KMT party in the future with strong reactions and mock drills to show its discontent. But is seems that the fear strategy is not working in favour of China as the Taiwan people choose DPP over KMT . China thinks Lai is dangerous and supports separatist policies and is gainst the One China Claim by the PRC.