China has unveiled a new tactic against Taiwan, the democratic island it considers its territory, reports "Reuters", quoted by News.bg.
These are large-scale military exercises that go almost unnoticed, so as to normalize the increased military presence and let the United States know that Beijing can act whenever it wants.
For four days this week, Taiwan was on high alert due to the largest buildup of Chinese naval forces in three decades around the island and in the East and South China Seas.
The Chinese military has not announced anything until today, when it quotes "The Art of War" of the ancient Chinese tactician Sun Tzu - a favorite book of the founder of the communist republic, Mao Zedong.
"Just as water does not maintain a constant shape, there are no constant conditions in war", the Ministry of Defense pointed out. The cryptic statement neither confirmed nor denied that Beijing had conducted military exercises.
The initial silence was a departure from China's previous practice of massive propaganda to coincide with military exercises around the island.
A senior Taiwanese security official this week called China's activities "exercises that dare not speak their name."
China's military exercises in October were accompanied by a flurry of military and state media graphics and videos criticizing Taiwan's President Lai Ching-tei, whom Beijing denounces as a "separatist."
Lai rejects Beijing's claims of sovereignty over Taiwan and says only the island's people can decide its future.
Security sources had expected China to launch new exercises to coincide with Lai's trip this month to the Pacific, where he visited Hawaii and the US territory of Guam. Beijing opposes any external engagement by Taiwan's leaders.
"I clearly believe this is the beginning of the 'middle stage' of normalization," said Chen Kuan-ting, a lawmaker from Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party who sits on the parliamentary foreign affairs and defense committee. "Neighboring countries should be aware that if they do not respond appropriately, they themselves may be the next target."
Neither the United States nor Japan, Taiwan's two most important security partners, have confirmed the scale of China's military moves, although both sides have expressed concern. Taiwan announced last night that the activities had been suspended and closed its emergency response center.
One of Taiwan's concerns is that the Chinese exercises could suddenly escalate into a full-scale attack, and a Taiwanese intelligence official this week suggested that China was trying to mislead them by keeping quiet.
"By not announcing the exercises in advance, they want to lower our vigilance and catch everyone off guard when they keep showing up around Taiwan," said a senior intelligence officer.