China kicks off military drills near Taiwan, warns island’s ‘independence’ means war

Coast Guard vessel formations conducted law-enforcement patrols in waters surrounding Taiwan Island.
Photo: Screenshot from WeChat account of the CCG

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command on Tuesday conducted multi-subject drills in waters to north, south, and east of Taiwan Island, Xinhua repots. 

The theater command organized its vessel and aircraft formations, in coordination with conventional missile troops and long-range rocket launching systems, to conduct drills of air interception, assault on maritime targets, strikes on ground objects, and joint blockade and control, according to the theater command.

These drills were aimed at testing the troops' capabilities of carrying out integrated operations, seizure of operational control, and multi-directional precision strikes, the theater command added.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command on Tuesday started joint exercises around Taiwan island. The drills serve as a stern warning and forceful deterrent against "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, and are a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard sovereignty and national unity, said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the theater command.

Zhu Anqing, spokesperson of the CCG's East China Sea Bureau, said on Tuesday that China Coast Guard vessel formations conducted law-enforcement patrols in waters surrounding Taiwan island, and carried out drills such as inspection and capture, interception and detention operations.

A mission poster showing details of this law-enforcement operation was released simultaneously.

The poster (picture above) depicted that the CCG dispatched the 1107 formation, the 1301 formation, the 2304 formation as well as the vessels 2302, 2305 and 2307, which encircled the island from the north and south.

The source said that the CCG vessels participating in the law-enforcement patrols come from multiple units from several provinces along the coast, and the distance of the law-enforcement measures are closer to the Taiwan island than last time. From May and October of last year to today, the CCG’s force deployment is coming closer, showing that the more serious the provocations are, the tighter the stranglehold will be.

Zhu, the spokesperson, said that Taiwan is a province of the People's Republic of China. These drills are practical actions to exercise legitimate jurisdiction and control over the island in accordance with the one-China principle. The source noted that the information released by the CCG and the poster specifically emphasize the connection between Taiwan and the mainland, asserting that both belong to one and the same China. This also underscores the overall control of the CCG's law enforcement around Taiwan.

China’s military said Tuesday its army, navy and rocket forces launched a joint exercise off the coast of Taiwan in what it described as a “stern warning” against forces looking to undermine peace in the Taiwan Strait, CNBC writes.

The military drills, designed to “close in on Taiwan from multiple directions,” are a “resolute punishment” for the island’s President Lai Ching-te administration’s “provocations for independence,” said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

″‘Taiwan independence’ means war and pursuing that agenda means pushing Taiwanese people into the danger of war,” the spokesperson said.

The drills focused on practicing assaults on maritime and ground targets, and blockades of key areas and sea lanes to test the joint operation capabilities of its troops, Senior Colonel Shi Yi said in a statement released by the People’s Liberation Army.

“Elements of the announcement suggest this will be large exercise,” said Lyle Morris, a senior fellow for foreign policy and national security at Asia Society. He expects the actions could be a response to Lai’s remarks made earlier this month, where the Taiwanese president called the mainland “foreign hostile forces,” drawing harsh criticism from Beijing.

China has vowed to reclaim the island, which it views as its own territory, and by force if necessary. The democratically governed island rejects Beijing’s claims.

The military exercise follows U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s pledges to strengthen military ties with Japan, the Philippines, to counter China in the region and deter Beijing’s seizure of Taiwan.

During his trips to the Asian countries last week, Hegseth pledged missile systems, troops and other military resources to build up defense in the region against China. Washington would provide “credible deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific region, including across the Taiwan Strait, he said.

Beijing has held several rounds of military drills around Taiwan and sent fighter jets to enter its airspace since President Lai took office nearly a year ago. Taiwan officials, led by President Lai, were often characterized by Beijing as “troublemakers.”

Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a post Tuesday that it detected 19 ships operating around the island as of 6 a.m.

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