China's biggest military exercises, which started on Monday near Taiwan, appeared to be minimized by US President Donald Trump.
This week, China began its "biggest war games" around Taiwan, an island republic. Beijing began ten hours of live-firing drills surrounding the islet on Tuesday, the second day of China's biggest military exercises, according to Reuters. "Justice Mission 2025" was the code name for the military exercises.
What prompted the start of these military exercises?
1. China charged Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) with furthering its separatist goals.
The People's Liberation Army's "Justice Mission 2025" exercises near Taiwan Island "are a punitive and deterrent action against separatist forces who seek "Taiwan independence" through military buildup," according to a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Taiwan's independence, according to Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang, "is incompatible with peace across the Strait."
These exercises are "a necessary move to safeguard China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity," according to Chinese spokespersons.
2. Interestingly, the exercises started eleven days after the United States announced a record $11.1 billion arms deal with Taiwan.
Taiwan's "massive and desperate arms purchase further reveals their true nature as provocateurs, saboteurs of peace and war-mongers," according to a statement released by the foreign affairs ministry on Monday.
China's ministry stated, "Anyone who tries to arm Taiwan to contain China will only embolden the separatists and push the Taiwan Strait closer to the peril of armed conflict," without mentioning the United States.
Simultaneously, Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, declared that Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party leadership, which is depending on outside forces to achieve "independence," "is doomed to fail and that resisting reunification through military means is a dead end."
China emphasized that the "Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests." It issued a warning that China would respond firmly to anyone who goes too far or provokes the issue.
The ministry declared that "all attempts to hold back China's reunification will invariably fail."
Trump minimizes concern
As the PLA began a second day of drills that included live-fire practice in reaction to a significant incident, US President Donald Trump appeared to minimize China's most recent actions around Taiwan.
At a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump told reporters, "I have a great relationship with President Xi [Jinping] and he hasn't told me anything about it."
However, he hasn't told me anything about it, even though I have seen it. Trump added, "I don't think he's going to do it."
"I'm not worried," he said. "They’ve [China] been doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area – now people take it a little bit differently," Trump stated.
What is the true motivation for China's military exercises?
China has increased military pressure on Taiwan over the past five years because it believes that the democratically run island nation is a part of its own.
Taiwan rejected China's assertion of sovereignty, arguing that the island's future should be decided by its own citizens. The people of Taiwan choose their own leaders.
Despite the fact that most nations do not legally recognize it, Taiwan enjoys de facto independence.
Since the People's Republic of China has no role in how it selects its leaders and has never ruled Taiwan, Taiwan contends that the Republic of China is a sovereign state and Beijing has no right to speak for or represent it.
However, China maintains that it will continue to use force to subjugate Taiwan. Any assault on Taiwan has the potential to start a larger regional conflict.
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