China says military drills around Taiwan are to test its ability to ‘seize power’

(CNN) — China’s military exercises around Taiwan are aimed at testing its ability to “seize power” on the island, the People’s Liberation Army announced Friday, as its forces began a second day of large-scale drills around its democratic neighbour.

The drills are the largest in more than a year and come just days after Taiwan’s new President Lai Ching-te was sworn into office, drawing open condemnation from Beijing for his vow to defend the island’s sovereignty and identity.

Beijing has denounced Lai as a “dangerous separatist” and censored his inaugural speech on Monday, in which he called on China to stop its bullying of Taiwan, which has become more overt under leader Xi Jinping.

The PLA, which dwarfs Taipei’s massive military, began exercises on Thursday morning, sending warships and fighter jets around Taiwan and its remote islands in what it called “a severe punishment for the separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces.”

On Friday, the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command said it was continuing exercises on both sides of the Taiwan island chain to “test the ability to jointly seize power, launch joint attacks and occupy key areas.”

China’s ruling Communist Party considers Taiwan part of its territory despite never controlling it, and has vowed to annex the island by force if necessary.

The vast majority of Taiwanese people do not want to live under Chinese rule. But Xi, China’s most authoritarian leader in a generation, has made clear that the island’s “inevitable reunification” with the mainland cannot be postponed indefinitely.

The two-day drills, which involve joint operations by China’s army, navy, air force and rocket force, are taking place in the Taiwan Strait — a narrow stretch of water that separates the island from mainland China as well as from the north, south and east of Taiwan, according to the PLA.

For the first time, the PLA exercise also included the participation of the Chinese Coast Guard, which operated in areas close to Taiwan’s outlying islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin, located off China’s southeastern coast.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry has condemned the Chinese military exercises as an “irrational provocation” and has sent its naval, air and land forces in response.

Between 6:00 a.m. Thursday and 6:00 a.m. Friday, the ministry detected 49 Chinese aircraft, 35 of which crossed the Median Line, an informal demarcation point in the Taiwan Strait that Beijing does not recognize but was highly respected until recent years.

According to the ministry, a total of 19 Chinese warships and seven coast guard vessels were detected near the Taiwan Strait.