CHINA has launched terrifying new military drills around Taiwan with Beijing threatening to “annihilate” its neighbour amid escalating war fears.
Xi Jinping’s armynavy and air force have all been deployed for massive live-fire exercises simulating the seizure and blockade of Taiwan in the latest warning shot to “separatist forces”.
The drills are taking place just days after the US announced the sale of one of its largest weapons packages to Taiwan worth an estimated £8.2bn.
China fiercely protested the sale and hit out at Washington – close allies of Taiwan – for aiding their enemies.
They have since declared exercises, dubbed “Justice Mission 2025”, around Taiwan in the latest invasion threat.
Officials from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) claim to have created a “shield of justice” around Taiwan with the drills.
CLASH OF TITANS
Who’d win a US & China war over Taiwan? US security doc reaches conclusion
RED FLEET
Staggeringly clear satellite pics show Chinese warship armada massing near Taiwan
They released a map showing five blockades – made up of PLA personnel – completely surrounding Taiwan.
Drills will go on until Tuesday as Beijing completes its “multi-dimensional deterrence” training, military officials said.
Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command, said the activities will focus on “training for maritime and aerial combat readiness patrols, gaining integrated control and sealing off key ports and areas.”
The drills serve “as a serious warning to Taiwan Independence separatist forces and external interference forces”, he added.
A chilling follow-up statement read: “All those plotting independence will be annihilated upon encountering the shield!”
In response, Taiwan sent up fighter jets to protect their air space and monitor Beijing’s movements as they continue to move closer to the self-governing island.
Military leaders also scrambled together plans for their troops to take part in war rehearsals to get them prepared to repel any looming attack.
It comes just weeks after Taiwan’s government fired a stark warning to Beijing, vowing to ready itself for all-out war within two years.
Communist China has never ruled Taiwan, but Beijing has threatened to annex it by force.
The past few years have seen dozens of terrifying dress rehearsal invasions take place in the South China Sea.
Xi even told Trump in a phone call earlier this year that Taiwan’s return to China “an integral part of the post-war international order.”
China has offered Taiwan a “one country, two systems” solution, but this model has been rejected by any mainstream political party in the country.
Fears also continue to grow that the rapidly escalating issues could plunge the region into serious instability.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi even suggested his own military could get involved if China were to attack the self-governed island in the coming months.
Should Beijing’s invasion turn into a multi-nation battle then it risks sparking a global conflict with the US and China at the helm.
Tyrant Xi could “split the world in two” with a catastrophic war should he follow through on his constant threats to seize Taiwan by force, an expert told The Sun.
Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau Chinese Institute, Kerry Brown, believes China taking on Taiwan would cause damage on a “completely different scale”.
He said that if Beijing invades, there’s a strong chance US forces will rally to defend their ally in the region.
The major move would dangerously pit two nuclear powers against each other with leaders Xi and Donald Trump among the most fearless around.
Prof Brown said: “Geopolitically, it would split the world into China’s allies and America’s allies.
“This would be multiple times worse than Russia and Ukraine. If it happens, it will create a completely different world – one that we have no clue how it will function.
“They would seriously damage each other and then it could become a global conflict.”
China has a number of notorious allies who would be likely to get involved in some form.
These include the other two members of the Axis of Evil trio in North Korea‘s Kim Jong-un and Putin.
Classified documents have already revealed that Russia is helping China to invade by supplying tanks and weapons technology.
A report by the RUSI think warned the troops and armoured vehicles could swoop onto Taiwanese golf courses close ports and airports as they are less defended than military targets.
Why does China want to invade Taiwan?
TAIWAN insists it is an independent nation after splitting from mainland China amid civil war in 1949.
But China claims Taiwan remains a part of its territory with which it must eventually be reunified – and has not ruled out the use of force to take the island and place it under Beijing’s control.
The island, which is roughly 100 miles from the coast of south-east China, sees itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland, with its own constitution and democratically-elected leaders.
Taiwan sits in the so-called “first island chain”, which includes a list of US-friendly territories that are crucial to Washington’s foreign policy in the region.
This also puts it in an ideal situation to slow a Chinese attack on the West.
And with tensions between the two nations high, Taiwan is likely to aid China’s enemy if it means keeping its independence.
Taiwan’s economy is another factor in China’s desperation to reclaim the land.
If China takes the island, it could be freer to project power in the western Pacific and rival the US, thanks to much of the world’s electronics being made in Taiwan.
This would allow Beijing to have control over an industry that drives the global economy.
China insists that its intentions are peaceful, but President Xi Jinping has also used threats towards the small island nation.