China started a two-day set of fire military exercises on Thursday in parts of the Taiwan Strait close to its southeastern Fujian province. According to a notice from authorities the exercises are happening near Dongshan Island close to the border with Guangdong province and will take place every day from 6 a.m. To 6 p.m. Local time for both days.
The drills are taking place in waters close to the mainland coastline. According to information from the navigation warning the days exercise area was outlined using five coordinate points in the waters east and south of Dongshan Island moving toward the Taiwan Strait itself. On the day the drill area shifts to a rectangular zone closer to the Dongshan coast. All activities are said to be kept within 12 kilometers of the mainland shoreline making this exercise different from larger more widespread war games China has done before.
Timing Raises Questions Around Diplomacy
The exercises started one day after a major meeting between senior American and Chinese diplomats. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had talks that covered issues, including the situation in Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing still claims as its own territory despite the objections of Taiwans elected government.
The two officials met on the side of a ministerial meeting. Discussions were said to focus on finding areas of cooperation before a planned autumn visit to Washington by Chinas president. Although the meeting was called helpful Taiwan remains one of the sensitive issues in US-China relations. Beijing has repeatedly asked Washington to be careful on this issue during interactions between the two sides.
Not Beijings Largest Show of Force
Although the current drills are a show of military activity in the strait they are much smaller compared to Chinas biggest exercises around Taiwan, which happened in December. Those war games came after Washington announced an arms deal worth than 11 billion dollars for Taiwan. This deal made Beijing very angry. During those exercises Chinas Eastern Theatre Command fired rockets into waters north and south of Taiwan. It was one of the demonstrations of force in the area in recent times.
In contrast the current exercises seem focused. They are centered tightly around Dongshan Island of going around the island of Taiwan itself. Analysts have also noticed that drills like this tend to happen often during the middle and later parts of July. This is a time when Chinas military uses the summer conditions to test and improve combat readiness in tough situations.
A Recurring Pattern of Pressure
These exercises are the latest in a history of Chinese military activity near Taiwan. Beijing has used this pattern repeatedly over the year to show dissatisfaction with US arms sales, diplomatic contacts with Taipei and statements from regional allies. Earlier rounds of drills have simulated blockades of Taiwanese ports and caused the Taiwanese government to call Beijings actions a form of military pressure. Sometimes these drills have led to mobilizations by Taiwans military.
Beijing still says it will not rule out using force to bring Taiwan under its control. It also says any outside efforts to stop what it calls “unification” will fail. Taiwan continues to reject Chinas claim to sovereignty. Has always criticized these exercises as dangerous.
What It Means Going Forward
Even though the current drills are not as big as some ones their timing so soon after high-level US-China talks shows that Beijing wants to make its position clear on Taiwan. This is happening even as diplomatic talks between Washington and Beijing stay open. With a state visit by Chinas president to the US planned for later this year how both sides handle recurring issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea will likely be a key sign of the overall direction of US-China relations, in the coming months.
