China Power

China Launches New Military Drills Around Taiwan Following Lai’s First Overseas Trip

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China Power | Security | East Asia

China Launches New Military Drills Around Taiwan Following Lai’s First Overseas Trip

Responses to the drills, whether from abroad or from the Taiwanese public, were relatively muted.

China Launches New Military Drills Around Taiwan Following Lai’s First Overseas Trip

Taiwanese F-16 fighter jets accompany the presidential plane as President Lai Ching-te departs for a tour of the Pacific, Nov. 30, 2024.

Credit: Ministry of National Defense, ROC (Taiwan)

Chinese military drills took place around Taiwan earlier this week, with Chinese authorities announcing seven reserved areas of airspace on December 9, to last until December 11. What followed was what some have termed the largest deployment of Chinese naval vessels around Taiwan since 1996

The drills are generally understood to be a reaction to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s first overseas trip, during which he visited the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Tuvalu. As part of this trip, Lai made two stopovers in the United States. Lai first stopped in Hawai‘i on his outbound trip, during which he visited the Bishop Museum and spoke of ties between Indigenous Taiwanese and Austronesian peoples. While in Hawai‘i, Lai also spoke by video call with former U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. 

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