ON THE BRINK

China Drills Are Part of Its Invasion Prep Playbook, Taiwan Foreign Minister Claims

Joseph Wu said Beijing could make its massive military exercises routine “in an attempt to wreck the long-term status quo” in the region.

China is using its unprecedented military drills as a game-plan to prepare for an eventual invasion of Taiwan, the self-governing island’s foreign minister claimed Tuesday. Joseph Wu shared his fears about the ultimate purpose of the massive exercises that were launched after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which China sees as part of its own territory. “China has used the drills in its military playbook to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan,” Wu said at a Taipei press conference. “It is conducting large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyberattacks, disinformation, and economic coercion, in an attempt to weaken public morale in Taiwan. 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.”