New military drills in northern Taiwan are part of annual training and not an indication of escalating tensions. That was the word from Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) on Monday in response to concerns about the significance of simulating attempts to “decapitate” Taiwan’s government.
Chiu says running anti-terrorism and anti-coup drills is a necessary part of annual training and he does not want to trigger any misunderstandings about Taiwan’s situation. He says other countries have many theories about current cross-strait tensions, and while he respects their analysis, he won’t comment on or affirm their opinions.
Chiu did say that reflecting on his many years of military service, the current situation with China has gotten very serious.
Some media reports say Taiwan has secretly invited NATO member countries to discuss the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. Chiu says Taiwan’s National Defense University is a research institution and often organizes international discussion forums, so this is not an unusual development.