Chinese ‘shock troops’ practise beach invasion
VIDEO REVEALS SOLDIERS STORMING BEACH ACROSS THE SEA FROM TAIWAN
China’s military has released an action film-style video of its soldiers in beach landing and assault drills directly across the sea from Taiwan. Tensions between Beijing and Taipei have risen in recent weeks, as concerns grow that China is preparing to mount a full-scale invasion.
The Chinese military did not explicitly link the drills to those tensions, but the official People’s Liberation Army Daily newspaper said the exercise had involved “shock” troops, sappers and boat specialists.
A clip released via the Weibo microblogging website showed soldiers in small boats storming a beach, throwing smoke grenades, breaking through barbed wire defences and digging trenches in the sand — all to a fastpaced, dramatic soundtrack.
The troops were “divided into multiple waves to grab the beach and perform combat tasks,” according to a short post by the military.
Fujian province, where the drills took place, would be a key launching site for any Chinese invasion of Taiwan due to its geographical proximity.
The exact timing of the drill has not been revealed, but the weather was clear and the seas were calm — suggesting the drill did not happen on Monday as southern Fujian is currently being affected by a tropical storm passing between Taiwan and the Philippines.
The announcement comes on the back of a record-breaking upsurge in Chinese military aircraft, including nuclear-capable bombers and fighter jets, flying into Taiwan’s air defence zone — the buffer area close to its sovereign airspace.
The Chinese Communist Party claims the island democracy of 23.5 million as its own territory, even though it has never ruled there and Taiwan operates as an independent country with its own government, foreign policy and military forces.
Chinese aggression over the lush, tropical island threatens to throw the world into disarray, risking a repeat of 2014 when Russia illegally annexed Crimea in a show of force under Vladimir Putin.
Much like President Putin, Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party leader, is betting his swagger will play well at home, shoring up nationalist sentiment as he prepares to keep tight hold of the reins for another five-year term — and likely even longer.
Over the weekend, Xi and Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s leader, went head-to-head in speeches outlining their opposing views on bilateral relations.
On Saturday, Xi vowed to pursue “reunification” with Taiwan and warned against efforts to seek independence.
On Sunday, Tsai responded in her National Day address, saying she hoped for an easing of tensions across the Taiwan Strait, and reiterated Taiwan will not “act rashly.”
“But there should be absolutely no illusions that the Taiwanese people will bow to pressure,” she said in the speech outside the presidential office in central Taipei.
“We will continue to bolster our national defence and demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves in order to ensure that nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us,” Tsai added.
“This is because the path that China has laid out offers neither a free and democratic way of life for Taiwan, nor sovereignty for our 23 million people.”
Over the weekend, a row broke out between Tony Abbott, the former prime minister of Australia, and the Chinese government after he criticized Beijing’s human rights record under the “cult of the red emperor.”
The Chinese embassy in Canberra hit back, calling Abbott a “failed and pitiful politician” and accusing him of a “despicable and insane performance in Taiwan.”