Latest PLA drill short, small in scale: Taiwan intelligence chief

Taipei, Oct. 16 (CNA) Taiwan's intelligence chief said Wednesday that the latest Chinese military drills around Taiwan were shorter and smaller in scale than similar drills in May but still backfired based on the reaction of the international community.

National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said the "Joint Sword-2024B" military drills showed that Beijing had a very different interpretation of President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) National Day speech than most other countries.

While most of the world saw Lai's Oct. 10 address as "moderate, practical and rational," the Chinese Communist Party saw it as provocative and used it as an excuse to launch Monday's exercises in response, Tsai said on the sidelines of a legislative session.

⚫Full text of President Lai Ching-te's National Day address

By holding Monday's drills in and over waters around Taiwan, Beijing was trying to put pressure on Taipei, Tsai said, but the exercises backfired because they only prompted more international support for Taiwan, he argued, citing the U.S. reaction.

Tsai said the United States Department of Defense issued a statement which he described as "extremely rare and strong-worded" in denouncing the latest People's Liberation Army (PLA) drills.

In the Oct. 14 Pentagon statement, the U.S. military said the PLA's military operation was "irresponsible, disproportionate, and destabilizing."

"As the White House noted last week, it is a long-standing tradition for Taiwan's president to deliver remarks on 10/10," the statement said.

"It is a routine, domestic-focused address that has historically prompted little response from the PRC. Still, the PRC has chosen this opportunity to take provocative, military action."

During Wednesday's legislative session, Tsai told lawmakers that the PLA also engaged in large-scale cognitive warfare by spreading false information online during Monday's drills.

One example was a post on PTT, a popular Bulletin Board System, on Monday. It claimed that a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker was unable to dock at Taichung Harbor after being stopped by Chinese warships, according to the NSB chief.

In an attempt to spread fear among Taiwanese, the post warned that once LNG tankers were unable to enter Taiwan, Taiwan could face an energy shortage, Tsai said.

Taiwanese state-run oil company CPC Corp., Taiwan immediately denounced the post as a rumor and said no such incident ever happened, according to Tsai.

The PLA described the 13-hour "Joint Sword-2024B," involving drills by the army, navy, air force and rocket forces of the PLA in areas north, south and east of Taiwan, as a "stern warning to the separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces."

It was a reference to Beijing's claim -- strongly opposed by Taipei -- that Taiwan is a part of its territory.

According to Taiwan's military, China flew a single-day-high 125 warplanes near Taiwan from 5:02 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., on Monday.

China's military drills came four days after President Lai said in his National Day address on Oct. 10 that the People's Republic of China (PRC) has "no right to represent Taiwan" and reiterated that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are "not subordinate" to each other.

The previous large-scale PLA exercises surrounding Taiwan, code-named "Joint Sword-2024A," began on May 23 and lasted for two days.

They were held in response to Lai's May 20 inaugural address that also stressed the PRC and the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) were not subordinate to each other, which Beijing sees as promoting Taiwan independence.

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