China expands military drills near Taiwan

China’s latest large-scale military activities around Taiwan and the region is a power projection and a signal that Beijing can act whenever it wants, a lawmaker and expert in Taiwan said.

China's defence ministry broke its silence about days of military activities around Taiwan, saying it was up to China to decide whether or not to hold drills and the military would "not be absent" in fighting against separatist forces.

In a statement responding to a question on Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's recent visits to Hawaii and the US territory of Guam and whether or not China has held drills, China's defense ministry offered neither confirmation nor denial.

Unlike with the last four rounds of war games around Taiwan since 2022, which China's military publicised with much fanfare, it has so far kept mum on its activities. Only China's Taiwan Affairs Office has so far given any explanation, saying the government was taking "necessary measures" to defend the country's sovereignty.

China was trying to normalise its military moves and expand its activities at will, and other countries need to take the threat seriously, Chen Kuan-ting, a lawmaker for Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party who sits on the parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, said.

Meanwhile, Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, Taiwan's top military think tank, said China had two messages.

Apart from its displeasure with Taiwan, Su said, China wants to show the United States and its allies it can impact the “First Island Chain”, an area that stretches from Japan through to Taiwan, along the Chinese coast and into the South China Sea.

Beijing views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory - a claim rejected by the government in Taipei which says only Taiwan's people can decide their future.