China’s military has declared it is ‘ready to fight and smash Taiwanese independence’, releasing an animated video simulating how it would launch an all-out attack on the self-governing island nation.
The clip, shared by the Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command’s official WeChat account and later posted on Twitter by The Global Times, showed how Beijing would launch a torrent of missiles from the mainland and its navy in the Taiwan Strait to demolish Taiwan’s defences before invading.
It comes as China’s military completed three days of large-scale ‘combat readiness patrols’ which simulated completely sealing off the island in a military blockade and were described by defence officials as a ‘warning’.
‘The theatre’s troops are ready to fight at all times and can fight at any time to resolutely smash any form of ”Taiwan independence” and foreign interference attempts,’ the military said Monday.
The exercises were similar to ones conducted by Beijing last August, when it launched missile strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan in retaliation for then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s visit to the island – seen by Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of China.
Military experts say the exercises serve both as intimidation and as an opportunity for Chinese troops to practice sealing off Taiwan by blocking sea and air traffic, an important strategic option the Chinese military might pursue in the event it uses military force to take Taiwan.
Read More: China releases chilling video showing how it would bombard Taiwan in an invasion
