Amid tension over Taiwan, China announces military exercises with Russia

“After the exercises, part of the forces from both sides will proceed to relevant areas of the Pacific Ocean to carry out joint maritime patrols,” the agency said in a statement. The Chinese Defense Ministry said the military exercises are held annually and aim to "jointly address security challenges and maintain regional peace and stability." China constantly monitors Taiwan with warships, something that sometimes heightens tensions in the region. Beijing justifies the surveillance as patrols to "guarantee Chinese territorial sovereignty." 'Anti-communist' classes in Taiwan The Taiwanese government fears a Chinese invasion and is already preparing for it in several ways. Taiwan's military has resumed "anti-communist" patriotic classes for its graduates after a gap of a quarter of a century, the Defense Ministry said on Sunday. Classes for graduates of its military academy have been reinstated due to increased military and infiltration risks from China. A Taiwanese official reported to the Reuters news agency a new intensification of Chinese naval activity around the island. “It is necessary for them to clearly understand the threats to national security and recognize the military mission of ‘why we fight and who we fight for.’ (...) The objective is to establish among graduates a clear awareness of who is a friend and who is an enemy,” the statement said. During the Cold War, campaigns in Taiwan warning of the dangers of “communist bandits” in China — whose government considers the island its own territory — were widespread. But formal “anti-communist” patriotic education for military graduates was ended in 2002, being renamed “patriotic education.”