Taiwan Holds War Games Miles Off China’s Coast

by | Mar 17, 2022

Taiwan Holds War Games Miles Off China’s Coast

by | Mar 17, 2022

Taiwan has carried out live-fire military drills just miles away from mainland China, as the island remains on high alert following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The US and Japan matched Taipei with their own combat exercises near Mt. Fiji this week, also focused on Beijing. 

The drills were held Wednesday on Dongyin Island – Taiwan’s northernmost territory located about 30 miles off the mainland – with troops firing artillery shells and machine guns at targets in the ocean. The exercise aimed to prepare soldiers to repel an amphibious assault by Chinese forces, with Taipei recently voicing concerns that Beijing will attempt to seize one of its smaller islands as the world is focused on fighting in Ukraine.

While Taiwan raised its alert level just before Russia invaded its neighbor, Beijing insists it has no plans for a similar attack, arguing that the island is “not Ukraine” while rejecting any comparison. China considers Taiwan part of its sovereign territory, though it has long been self-governed and formally refers to itself as the Republic of China.

However, as noted by foreign policy commentator Ted Galen Carpenter, China is growing impatient with “Taipei’s increasingly blunt rejection of unification with the mainland” and continued ties with the United States, stepping up its own military presence near the island in a series of naval exercises in recent months – including some alongside Russian forces.

Those moves come as the US and local allies carry out regular war games and shows of force in the region. On Tuesday, the American and Japanese militaries kicked off three weeks of joint airborne combat drills near Mt. Fuji, with 400 Japanese soldiers joining 600 US Marines on the island of Okinawa.

“We are committed to securing the peace and stability in the region through Japan-US joint responses. Any potential adversary will see this as our actual capability, not just words,” said Col. Masashi Hiraki, who leads Japan’s First Amphibious Rapid Deployment Regiment. 

The Joe Biden administration is spending billions to build up its military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific and has identified China as America’s top competitor in the coming decades. In addition to constant drills and near-monthly transits of the Taiwan Strait by US warships, Biden continues to proclaim that the United States has a duty to come to the island’s defense in the event of attack by the mainland – despite contradictory statements from other White House officials that the US policy of “strategic ambiguity” remains unchanged.

White House Says China Will Pay a Price for Supporting Russia

Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter

Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He also hosts the Kyle Anzalone Show.

Will Porter is the assistant news editor of the Libertarian Institute and a former staff writer and editor at RT. He edited Scott Horton's 2024 book Provoked: How Washington started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine.

Kyle and Will host the Conflicts of Interest podcast along with Connor Freeman.

View all posts

Our Books

Shop books published by the Libertarian Institute.

libetarian institute longsleeve shirt

Our Books

cb0cb1ef 3fcb 417d 80d8 4eef7bbd8290

Recent Articles

Recent

News Roundup 6/23/2025

News Roundup 6/23/2025

Israel Israeli Forces Slaughter 48 More Palestinians in Gaza Over 24 Hours AWC Iran Trump Suggests He Wants Regime Change in Iran AWC Report: Netanyahu Convinced Trump to Expand Iran Attack Beyond Fordow The Institute  JD Vance Says Don’t Worry About War With Iran...

read more
News Roundup 6/20/2025

News Roundup 6/20/2025

US News Trump Again Delays TikTok Ban Nap Russia Zelensky: US Asked Ukraine Not To Attack Russian Energy The Institute  Israel Top Defense Official Fired After Posts Blasting Israel Surface Nap Israel Slaughters 140 Palestinians in Gaza Over 24 Hours AWC Israeli...

read more
News Roundup 6/16/2025

News Roundup 6/16/2025

US News Tulsi Gabbard Laments US Bombing of Hiroshima, Warns of ‘Nuclear Annihilation’ AWC Israel Gaza Boy Who Survived Israeli Airstrike That Killed His Nine Siblings Evacuated To Italy for Medical Treatment AWC 64% of Israelis Say ‘No Innocent People in Gaza’ The...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This