China announces the end of its military maneuvers around Taiwan

China announced on Friday May 24 the end of the large-scale military maneuvers it had been carrying out since Thursday around the island of Taiwan. The Chinese army “completed successfully” the “Joint Sword-2024A” exercises directed against Taiwan, said Friday evening a presenter from CCTV-7, the Chinese state television responsible for military news. According to Beijing, these maneuvers were intended to test its “capacity to take power” in the autonomous island.

For its part, the Taiwanese presidency estimated in a press release on Saturday that thiss military maneuvers are a “blatant provocation against the international order, raising serious concerns and condemnation from the international community“.

Warships, planes, soldiers and missile launchers were mobilized to encircle Taiwan as part of these military maneuvers officially named in English “Joint Sword-2024A” (or “Epées sharpes unies-2024A” in French). These exercises involved the ground forces, navy, air force and the rocket unit (responsible for strategic missiles) and were mainly held “in the Taiwan Strait, to the north, south and east of the island of Taiwan”. They also took place in areas around the islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin, all located in close proximity to China’s east coast.

China believes that Taiwan is one of its provinces, which it has not yet succeeded in reunifying with its territory since the end of the civil war and the communists coming to power in 1949. Beijing says it favors reunification “peaceful” with the island territory of 23 million inhabitants but does not rule out using force.