• China conducting aggressive military drills around Taiwan.
• Taiwan’s foreign minister says the drills are part of a larger plan to prepare for an invasion.
• China conducted ballistic missile tests as well as simulated sea and air attacks around the island.

Taiwan’s foreign minister warned China on Tuesday that its aggressive military drills around the island are part of a larger plan to prepare for an impending invasion.

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told reporters in Taipei that China’s aggression will not intimidate Taiwan, but that “China has used the drills in its military playbook to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan.”

“It is conducting large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyber-attacks, disinformation, and economic coercion, in an attempt to weaken public morale in Taiwan,” first reported Reuters. “After the drills conclude, China may try to routinize its action in an attempt to wreck the long-term status quo across the Taiwan Strait.”

Wu did not provide a timetable for when Taipei believes Beijing will officially order troops to invade the island, though some reports have suggested it could happen as China and the United States prepare for elections in 2024.

The Pentagon, however, disagrees, with Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. Colin Kahl telling reporters Monday that Beijing is “trying to coerce the international community.”

“We’re not going to take the bait, and it’s not going to work. It’s a manufactured crisis that that doesn’t mean we have to play into that,” he added. “What we’ll do instead is to continue to fly, to sail and to operate wherever international law allows us to do so.”

Following Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taipei, Beijing first crossed the unofficial border that separates Taiwan from mainland China by launching a series of military drills.

Chinese authorities interpreted her visit as an attempt by the United States to press for Taiwanese independence, and they conducted ballistic missile tests as well as simulated sea and air attacks around Taiwan.

Pelosi and the White House have maintained that her visit was not intended to change the status quo in the region, but rather to demonstrate Washington’s support for democracies around the world.

China announced on Monday that it will conduct anti-submarine and sea assault operations around Taiwan, fueling international concerns that China will continue to put pressure on Taipei’s defences.

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