Officials from the Chinese military announced on Monday that its troops had carried out beach landing and assault drills in the province located directly across the sea from Taiwan as tensions between the two regions continue to rise.
Despite the training exercises, Chinese authorities said that the actions were not directly linked to its current situation with Taipei. Taiwan has continued to criticize China's continued aggression of its claims to absorb the island as part of its territory. The tensions have been increasing especially after Beijing sent dozens of warplanes near Taiwan's airspace.
China Military Conducts Beach Landings Near Taiwan
In a brief report by the official People's Liberation Army Daily newspaper, authorities said that the military drills were carried out recently in the southern part of the Fujian province. The military's drills included "shock" troops, sappers, and boat specialists. They were later divided into different waves that would grab the beach and perform combat tasks at different stages.
Media also released a video that showed military personnel riding small boats and storming a beach, throwing smoke grenades, breaking through barbed wire defenses, and digging trenches in the sand of the beach. The military exercises were shown to include only a small number of military troops, Reuters reported.
The situation also came as a tropical storm passed between Taiwan and the Philippines, which contradicted the video that showed Chinese military personnel exercising drills on a clear and sunny day. Amid China's continued conduct of military drills, Taiwan officials have repeatedly affirmed they would defend themselves if necessary.
On Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping committed that the two governments would continue to have "peaceful reunification." The official said that Taiwan's independence separatism was the biggest obstacle in achieving a unified motherland. However, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen responded by saying that the island had already rejected Beijing's requests of unification, saying the island nation would not "act rashly."
She argued that the residents of Taiwan will never bow their heads to China's continued pressure and aggression. The Taiwanese president said that their government would continue to bolster the island's defenses and demonstrate their determination to defend themselves, The Hill reported.
Border Tensions Between China, India
The tensions between Taiwan and China come as Beijing has failed to defuse border issues with India. Talks between army commanders from the two nations have ended in a stalemate and have not succeeded in easing a 17-month standoff between the two regions that have experienced deadly border clashes.
The failed talks mean that military troops from both sides will continue to be stationed in the forward areas of Ladakh. In a statement, India's defense ministry said that it had already given China "constructive suggestions" which Beijing considered "not agreeable." A Chinese military spokesperson said that the Indian government kept to their unreasonable and unrealistic demands, which they considered made the negotiations even more difficult.
Both armies' commanders met on Sunday to talk about the situation at the border after two months of no communication. Indian and Chinese troops have withdrawn from the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso, Gogra, and Galwan Valley since February. However, they continued to station troops in some areas as part of a multi-tier deployment, the Associated Press reported.
Related Article:
