The Facts
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian stated on Wednesday that recent military drills around the island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, were held to fight the “arrogance” of Taiwanese secessionist forces.
She added that continued provocations have forced the People's Liberation Army to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and urged officials in Taiwan to work with China to maintain peace and stability in the Strait.
The Spin
Pro-China narrative
The island of Taiwan has been an integral part of Chinese territory for centuries. However, the Chinese people on both sides of the Straits are yet to be reunified following the 1949 split. Beijing has long sought to peacefully reunify the motherland under the agreed-upon One China policy — which the US signed off on — but secessionist Taiwanese officials backed by the US have recently begun to pursue provocative actions that are threatening the status quo.
Anti-China narrative
Beijing is waging psychological warfare on Taiwan by periodically sending Chinese military aircraft into the island nation's Air Defense Identification Zone. This pressure campaign aims to intimidate Taiwanese leaders and their citizens to achieve a political outcome favorable to China. The US must stand with its democratic ally and reject efforts by the PRC to undermine Taiwanese sovereignty.
