In response to escalating tensions with China, Taiwan initiates a two-day live missile firing test today, setting the stage for its largest annual military drill. This move highlights the precarious situation of the 23 million Taiwanese citizens who live under Beijing’s looming invasion threat.
China perceives Taiwan as a part of its territory, irrespective of its democratic self-rule. These tensions have seeped into Pingtung county in southern Taiwan, the focal point of the missile tests. This comes at a time when relations between Taipei and Beijing have hit a new low, punctuated by China’s aggressive military exercises around the island over the past year.
As recently as April, Beijing simulated targeted strikes on Taiwan and encirclement of the island in a show of might. State media reported aircrafts executing an “aerial blockade,” a response to President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
This week’s missile tests unfold amid Beijing’s aerial and naval posturing around the Taiwan Strait, a vital 180-kilometre-wide passage between the island and mainland China. In a recent incident, eight Chinese warplanes penetrated Taiwan’s contiguous zone, the strip of sea within 24 nautical miles of its coast.
Adding to the brewing tension, China’s Shandong aircraft carrier group completed a rare voyage through the Taiwan Strait in May. The diplomatic sphere between the two nations hasn’t seen better days either. Following President Tsai’s election, who refutes China’s claim to Taiwan, Beijing ceased communication with her government.
In a telling move last week, Taiwan’s immigration department denied applications from Chinese tourism officials seeking to attend a mid-July international travel fair, questioning the “necessity, urgency and irreplaceability” of their participation given the “overall cross-strait situation”. Only Chinese tourism operators were granted visas.
This news is based on an article from malaymail.com.
