Taiwan island’s annual military drill emboldens secessionists: expert

A day after guide- missile destroyer USS Sampson’s provocative transit through the Taiwan Straits, the Taiwan authority announced the details and focus of the Han Kuang military exercise in 2022, saying they will consider lessons learned from the Ukraine- Russia conflict.

Chinese mainland experts said the annual war games are nothing special but to embolden the secessionists, as once the Chinese mainland is forced to solve the Taiwan question militarily, it will be like a “thunderbolt” unlike the situation in Ukraine.

The defense authority of Taiwan said the main focus in the war games includes boosting preservation of combat power, bolstering joint maritime operations, and integrating civilians to serve as auxiliary forces to support military operations.

Ma Xiaoguang, the spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office under the State Council, said on Wednesday that the Democratic Progressive Party ( DPP) authority is “seeking secession through the military,” which will only lead to their own destruction.

Ma slammed the DPP authority for “wantonly squandering money earned by Taiwan people to buy weapons and create cross- Straits confrontation,” tying the 23 million Taiwan people to the secession chariot, and pushing the island into the disaster of war.

Although the Taiwan defense authority said they will learn from the Ukraine- Russia conflict in terms of asymmetric warfare, cognitive and information warfare, and whole community operation, mainland experts believe that the scenario in Europe is “completely devoid of reference” when it comes to China’s internal affairs.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the secessionists on the island are emboldening themselves by a self- deceiving drill to illustrate their capacity of resisting the People’s Liberation Army ( PLA), said Song. “Let them fool themselves.”