The Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) encircled self-ruled Taiwan for the first time as part of the latest ‘Joint Sword-2024B’ military drills. The same day, the CCG released a propaganda poster featuring a red ‘love heart’ surrounding the Taiwanese Island.
The photograph that first flashed on Chinese state television showed a satellite image of Taiwan’s main island with a red heart-shaped trail of arrows encircling it. In traditional Chinese characters used by Taiwan, the text accompanying the image read, “Hello, my sweetheart,” and “The patrol is in the shape of loving you. “
Surprisingly, “Hi, My Sweetheart” is a popular Taiwanese drama whose reference made by the CCG left the Taiwanese people baffled.
The image, which has gone viral on social media, was also published by the CCG on its official website in an attempt to convey to the Taiwanese people that Chinese drills were carried out with love from the Chinese motherland.
For several years, Chinese propagandists have tried to appease the Taiwanese people and urged them to reject calls for democracy that Beijing considers views as “separatism.”
Instead of achieving its desired effect, the latest propaganda image was scoffed at by Taiwanese people, who called it ‘creepy,’ as recently reported by The Guardian. Although the image was meant to provide a positive message, Taiwan has jeered it for being “weird” and “unsettling.”
The Taiwanese Coast Guard called it harassment and a sustained effort at cognitive warfare by China. Meanwhile, a local newspaper went so far as to liken the image to “sexual harassment.”
When the image surfaced on social media and started gaining traction, Taiwanese citizens flooded the comment boxes with vomit emojis, saying that the CCG was like an abusive boyfriend.
Nonetheless, the CCG’s messaging is significant when seen in the context of an enlarged role accorded to it in the recently concluded ‘Joint Sword-2024B’ military drills. Taiwan’s main island was surrounded by CCG vessels for the first time, a move that highlights Beijing’s increasing attempts to assert control over the waterways surrounding the democratic island.
CCG spokesperson Liu Dejun stated, “It is a practical action to lawfully enforce control over Taiwan island in accordance with the one-China principle.”
Additionally, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) expert Damien Symon pointed out that a sizable number of Chinese Coast Guard ships are visible in the waters near Taiwan when tracking AIS (Automatic Identification System) data linked to the latest military drill.
Chinese forces frequently publish montages and propaganda posters to threaten the ‘separatist’ forces in Taiwan and woo its residents. However, in recent times, the Chinese Coast Guard has started to assume a more prominent role in these posters which is not typical for Beijing’s messaging to the island state.
In February this year, for instance, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s Eastern Theater Command published a “Return Home” poster ahead of the lantern festival. The poster called on Taiwanese citizens to return and featured components of the Coast Guard personnel for the first time.
China’s Aggression Far From Over
China launched the latest military drills after Taiwan’s pro-democracy President, William Lai, gave his most high-profile address to the nation on Taiwan’s National Day. He said he would “uphold the commitment to resist annexation or encroachment upon our sovereignty.”
The Joint Sword-2024B exercises come just months after China conducted the Joint Sword-2024A drills around Taiwan in May after William Lai was sworn in as President of the self-ruled state. The latest drills have established one thing: China will act rapidly and encircle Taiwan at anything that it considers “provocative.”
The Chinese military claimed that the drill was a warning against “separatist acts” and pledged to take more such actions against Taiwan if necessary.
Shortly after announcing the end of the drills, China’s Defense Ministry warned that further drills might be conducted in the future. It asserted that the latest drills weren’t just a rerun of the May “Joint Sword-2024A” war simulations but rather an intensification of pressure against Taiwan’s independence.
“The People’s Liberation Army’s actions will be pushed further with each ‘Taiwan independence’ provocation until the Taiwan issue is completely resolved,” the ministry said in a statement.
Analysts have stated that these drills allow China to monitor Taiwan’s reactions and test Taiwan’s military capabilities, including its aircraft force.
Military experts have warned that China’s military aggression is far from over and will only expand in the future as it prepares for a potential invasion by the end of this decade. They expressed alarm, saying that the drills are “extremely dangerous” and will “leave us [with] a very short response time” because they are “approaching, closer and closer.”
On its part, China said on October 16 that It would never commit to renouncing the use of force over Taiwan. “We are willing to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity and endeavor,” Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a press briefing. But we will never commit ourselves to renouncing the use of force,” he said.
“No matter how many troops Taiwan has and how many weapons it acquires, and no matter whether external forces intervene or not, if it (Taiwan) dares to take risks, it will lead to its own destruction,” the statement further added. “Our actions to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity will not cease for a moment.”
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