Taiwan said in its annual China threat review that Beijing is tightening air and sea control around Taiwan amid rising unpredictability in Chinese decision-making. The defence ministry said China is studying lessons from the wars in Ukraine, the Gulf and the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict. It also said China’s exercises around Taiwan have centered on joint blockade and control of external sea lanes, while Beijing still lacks the capability for an amphibious assault.
Taiwanese soldiers participate in a live-fire drill during the Han Kuang military exercise in Penghu, Taiwan, Aug. 10. Reuters-Yonhap
TAIPEI — An increasingly unpredictable Beijing is tightening its grip on the air and sea around Taiwan, Taipei said in an annual review of the Chinese threat that also said China was learning lessons from issues faced by the United States in waging war on Iran.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control, and sends its military into the waters and airspace around Taiwan on an almost daily basis.
Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future. The United States supplies Taiwan with weapons while maintaining a policy of ambiguity about whether it would fight to defend it.
