China brands Taiwan Han Kuang drills a charade
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- Chen Xi, China's defence ministry spokesperson, called the Han Kuang exercises a "posturing, wasteful charade" that "stoked war panic" — the ministry's first official comment since the 10-day war games began last week.
- Chen accused Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of recklessly "turning cities into battlefields and pushing ordinary people to the front lines."
- The Han Kuang exercises rehearsed scenarios for breaking a maritime blockade and, for the first time, included protocols for slowing mobile internet.
- The People's Liberation Army remains on high alert and will "continuously enhance real-combat capabilities" to counter separatism and external interference, Chen said.
- Taiwan's government says only the island's people can decide its future, while China has never renounced the use of force but says it prefers "peaceful reunification."
- The Chinese military operates almost daily in the skies and waters around Taiwan, the backdrop against which the annual drills are staged.
Why it matters: The drills rehearsing blockade-breaking and mobile-internet throttling show Taipei preparing for specific Chinese operations, even as Beijing's 'charade' label collides with its own daily military patrols around the island.
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