China ends day of ‘warning’ drills around Taiwan

China ended a day of military drills around Taiwan yesterday in which it deployed fighter jets and warships in what Beijing said was a “stern warning” to “separatist” forces on the self-ruled island.
Beijing has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control and yesterday’s drills represented its fourth round of large-scale war games in just over two years.
The drills drew condemnation from the Taipei and US governments. The United States said China’s actions were “unwarranted” and risk “escalation” as it called on Beijing to act with restraint.
Beijing announced at around 6:00 pm (1000 GMT), 13 hours after the drills started, that they had been “successfully completed”.
The drills, dubbed Joint Sword-2024B, had “fully tested the integrated joint operation capabilities of its troops”, military spokesperson Captain Li Xi said in a statement.
“Always on high alert, troops of the theater command keep strengthening combat readiness with arduous training, and will foil the ‘Taiwan Independence separatist attempts’,” Li said.
President Lai Ching-te, who took office in May, has been more outspoken than his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen in defending Taiwan’s sovereignty, angering Beijing, which calls him a “separatist”.