By Joe Cash and Ben Blanchard
BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) – China’s defence ministry on Friday 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.
Taiwan’s defence ministry on Monday went on the alert and activated an emergency response centre after reporting a large rise in Chinese military activity, both around the island and more broadly in the East and South China Seas.
China’s military had made no announcement about any drills taking place. 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.
In a statement responding to a question on Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s recent visits to Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam and whether or not China has held drills, China’s defence ministry offered neither confirmation nor denial, though quoted from ancient Chinese military tactician Sun Tzu.
“Just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions,” the ministry said, an expression of Sun’s that means war conditions are unpredictable and constantly in flux.
“Whether or not to hold exercises and when to hold them is a matter for us to decide on our own according to our own needs and the situation of the struggle,” it added.
“Regardless of whether or not exercises are held, the People’s Liberation Army will not be absent and will not be soft in its fight against independence and for reunification.”
Any reliance on “foreign forces to seek independence” – the usual wording China uses to warn the United States off supporting Taiwan – will be severely punished and is “doomed to failure”, the ministry added.
China has staged two rounds of war games around Taiwan so far this year, most recently in October responding to Lai’s national day, saying they were a warning to “separatist acts” and vowing to take further action if needed.
Security sources had expected China to hold drills to coincide with Lai’s U.S. trip, and also to send a warning to the incoming Trump administration about China’s red lines.
On Thursday, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan said that Chinese military activity in the region was currently elevated but it did not see that wider activity as a response to Lai’s U.S. visit.
Later that day, Taiwan’s defence ministry said it has disbanded its emergency response centre, signalling an end to the current round of Chinese military activities.
On Friday morning, the ministry said it had only spotted 12 Chinese military aircraft operating nearby in the past 24 hours, down from 34 reported the previous day.
Taiwan’s coast guard also said on Friday that nine Chinese coast guard ships which were off the island’s southeast and southwest coasts had headed northwards after carrying out “undue” activities in recent days.
Taiwan’s coast guard published pictures and video of its ships shadowing Chinese vessels off the island’s east coast in rough seas and under grey skies.
(This story has been refiled to fix the spelling of Chinese tactician Sun Tzu in paragraph 4)
