Taiwan on Alert Ahead of Nanjing Massacre Anniversary: "Possible Chinese Military Drills"

"Expectations of Large-Scale Chinese Military Exercises"
"We Will Closely Monitor the Possibility of Drills"

Amid escalating tensions between China and Japan following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks suggesting possible intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency, there are expectations that China may conduct large-scale military exercises around December 13 (local time), which marks the anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre.

According to Taiwan's Central News Agency on December 11, Colonel Luo Zhengyu, Chief of Staff at Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, avoided giving a direct answer regarding the possibility of Chinese military drills during a press conference the previous day. He stated, "We are monitoring the movements of the Chinese military through a joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mechanism," and added that they would closely watch for any signs of exercises.

Chinese flag and Japanese flag. Photo for article understanding purposes only, unrelated to content. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News.

Colonel Luo emphasized that they are monitoring all Chinese military activities in the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and the Western Pacific, and that they are prepared to respond to any changes in Chinese military movements. He further explained that among China's three aircraft carriers, the Liaoning is currently navigating the Western Pacific via the Miyako Strait, while the other two, the Shandong and the Fujian, have not yet shown signs of deployment.

In Taiwan, reports citing national security sources have indicated that China may launch the "United Sharp Sword-C" exercise around the anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, fueling continued speculation about large-scale Chinese military drills.

Tsai Ming-yen, Director-General of Taiwan's National Security Bureau (NSB), stated on December 3 in response to related questions, "We must be prepared for the possibility of enemy advances, and we are constantly monitoring all Chinese military deployments near Taiwan." He added that since November and December are periods of heightened Chinese military activity, no possibility can be ruled out, and that China could combine several routine exercises into a larger operation targeting Taiwan.

According to Japan's Ministry of Defense, the Chinese Liaoning carrier group recently sailed in a manner that encircled Okinawa Island and surrounding areas. From December 5 to 8, there were approximately 140 takeoffs and landings by carrier-based aircraft and helicopters. On December 9, Chinese and Russian bombers conducted joint flights from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean south of Shikoku, Japan. On the same day, Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) without authorization.

The Nanjing Massacre was a mass killing perpetrated by the Japanese military in the then-capital of the Nationalist government, Nanjing, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, beginning on December 13, 1937, and lasting about six weeks. The Chinese side estimates that between 200,000 and 300,000 people were killed. China commemorates the event under the slogan "Never forget national humiliation." Last month, China also conducted live-fire drills in the Yellow Sea, the site of the Qing dynasty's Beiyang Fleet's defeat during the First Sino-Japanese War.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.