{"id":2415,"date":"2025-04-01T21:01:04","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T21:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2415"},"modified":"2025-04-01T21:01:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T21:01:04","slug":"china-stages-military-drills-near-taiwan-labels-president-lai-a-parasite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2415","title":{"rendered":"China stages military drills near Taiwan, labels president Lai a ‘parasite’"},"content":{"rendered":"
China staged military drills off Taiwan\u2019s north, south and east coasts on Tuesday as a \u201cstern warning\u201d against separatism and called Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te a \u201cparasite\u201d as Taiwan sent warships to respond to China\u2019s navy approaching its shores.<\/p>\n

The exercises, which China has not formally named unlike the war games last year, are happening after a rise in Chinese rhetoric against Lai and follow on the heels of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s Asia visit, during which he repeatedly criticised Beijing.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s military deployed ships, aircraft and artillery to practise blockading the island, strikes on ground and maritime targets, and air interception to \u201ctest forces\u2019 coordination in combat\u201d, Beijing\u2019s Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Last May, three days after Lai\u2019s inauguration, Chinese forces staged war games to simulate seizing full control of areas west of the so-called first island chain and conducted live-fire missile exercises.<\/p>\n

China considers democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and calls Lai a \u201cseparatist\u201d. In a video accompanying its announcement, the Eastern Theatre Command called him a \u201cparasite\u201d in English and depicted him as a green bug held by chopsticks over a burning Taiwan.<\/p>\n

Taiwan\u2019s government condemned the drills, with the presidential office saying China was \u201cwidely recognised by the international community as a troublemaker\u201d and that the government has the confidence and ability to defend itself.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Taiwan\u2019s government rejects Beijing\u2019s sovereignty claims, saying only the island\u2019s people can decide their future.<\/p>\n

Two senior Taiwan officials told Reuters that more than 10 Chinese military ships had approached close to Taiwan\u2019s 24 nautical miles (44 kilometres) contiguous zone and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond.<\/p>\n

Taiwan\u2019s defence ministry said it had not detected any live fire by the Chinese military, but that at least 71 Chinese military aircraft and 13 navy ships were involved. It added it did not know when the drills would end.<\/p>\n

Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang said Taiwan\u2019s armed forces had elevated their readiness level to ensure that China does not \u201cturn drills into combat\u201d and \u201claunch a sudden attack on us\u201d.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s foreign ministry said the drills \u201care legitimate and necessary actions to defend national sovereignty and safeguard national unity\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cChina\u2019s reunification is an unstoppable trend \u2014 it will happen, and it must happen\u201d Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson, said at a regular news conference today.<\/p>\n

Taiwan\u2019s stock market brushed off the rise in tensions, with the benchmark index closing up 2.8 per cent today.<\/p>\n

Taiwan dispatches warships<\/p>\n

Taiwan\u2019s Defence Ministry said that China\u2019s Shandong aircraft carrier group had entered the island\u2019s response area on Monday, adding that it had dispatched military aircraft and ships and activated land-based missile systems in response.<\/p>\n

The drills took place after Hegseth left the region following visits to Japan and the Philippines, where he criticised China and said Japan was \u201cindispensable\u201d for tackling Chinese aggression.<\/p>\n

A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters, citing internal assessments, that Beijing needed to avoid any \u201cperceived confrontation\u201d with Washington prior to the US-China trade talks, and thus Taiwan has become a pretext.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaiwan is their best excuse. That\u2019s why they chose to launch such military drills as soon as the US defence secretary left Asia,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n

The de facto US embassy, the American Institute in Taiwan, said the US would continue to support the island.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce again, China has shown that it is not a responsible actor and has no problem putting the region\u2019s security and prosperity at risk,\u201d a spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u2018Closing in\u2019<\/p>\n

China\u2019s military released a series of propaganda videos in quick succession after the drill announcement, depicting Chinese warships and fighter jets encircling Taiwan, Taipei being aimed at from above and a barrage of missiles firing into the sky before exploding on their targets.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A video of a poster accompanying the drills titled \u201cClosing In\u201d and showing Chinese forces surrounding the island, was released on the Eastern Theatre Command\u2019s Weibo.<\/p>\n

This was followed by a video titled \u201cShell\u201d, depicting President Lai as a green cartoon bug spawning parasites across the island, on the Eastern Theatre Command\u2019s WeChat page.<\/p>\n

\u201cParasite poisoning Taiwan island. Parasite hollowing island out. Parasite courting ultimate destruction,\u201d the animation said.<\/p>\n

Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said such rhetoric was not conducive to peace and \u201cshows their provocative character\u201d.<\/p>\n

third video, \u201cSubdue Demons and Vanquish Evils\u201d, featured Sun Wukong, the magical monkey king from the Ming Dynasty epic \u201cJourney to the West\u201d as he is depicted in the \u201cBlack Myth: Wukong\u201d hit video game.<\/p>\n

It opens with the video\u2019s title flashing across the screen and the Chinese mythical warrior riding on clouds before cutting to footage of Chinese fighter jets.<\/p>\n

A fourth poster, released later in the day and titled \u201cEnveloping Advance\u201d, had the Chinese characters of its title covering the island.<\/p>\n

Taiwan\u2019s Koo told reporters the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) should focus first on resolving its issues with corruption instead of destroying peace and stability in the region.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge over the past few years, which saw former Chinese defence minister Li Shangfu ousted in October 2024.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Koo\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

The Global Times, which is owned by the People\u2019s Daily newspaper of the governing Chinese Communist Party, said the drill had not been given a code name to show that Chinese military forces surrounding the island \u201chas become a normal practice\u201d, citing Zhang Chi of National Defence University.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough a series of exercises held in the Taiwan Strait in recent years, the PLA has strongly enhanced its ability to prepare for war and fight battles,\u201d the article on the paper\u2019s Weixin social media page added.<\/p>\n

Xi says China and India should strengthen ties in \u2018Dragon-Elephant tango\u2019<\/p>\n

Separately, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Indian President Droupadi Murmu the two countries should work more closely together, saying their relationship should take the form of a \u201cDragon-Elephant tango\u201d \u2014 a dance between their emblematic animals.<\/p>\n

The Chinese and Indian presidents exchanged congratulatory messages on Tuesday, the 75th anniversary of the start of their diplomatic ties, as tensions ease after a 2020 clash between their troops along their shared border in the Himalayas.<\/p>\n

Xi said the neighbours should find ways to coexist peacefully and that he was ready to deepen communication and coordination in major international affairs, and jointly safeguard peace in border areas.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China staged military drills off Taiwan\u2019s north, south and east coasts on Tuesday as a \u201cstern warning\u201d against separatism and called Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te a \u201cparasite\u201d as Taiwan sent warships to respond to China\u2019s navy approaching its shores. The exercises, which China has not formally named unlike the war games last year, are happening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}