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PLA flexes military muscle near Taiwan ‘in show of Covid-19 control’ to virus-hit US
- People’s Liberation Army resumes drills, including flotilla exercise in Miyako Strait
- Military observers say China is demonstrating its ability while virus hampers US aircraft carriers
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The People’s Liberation Army has resumed regular military drills at home and overseas, moves that military experts say are a show of strength and control over the Covid-19 outbreak.
The ground forces, navy and air force of the PLA’s five theatre commands started military drills this month, with some exercises involving joint operations, according to several reports published by the PLA Daily in recent days.
As the epidemic surged in China, the PLA was forced to suspend all large-scale joint drills because of disruptions to transport and allocations of military resources around the country.
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On Saturday, one of the large-scale drills resumed. A six-ship flotilla, led by the Liaoning aircraft carrier, sailed through the Miyako Strait – just 330km (205 miles) due east of the northernmost tip of Taiwan – on its way to the western Pacific.
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“In the future, the Chinese navy will continue to organise similar training schedules to accelerate and improve the combat capability of its aircraft carrier strike groups,” navy spokesman Gao Xiucheng was quoted as saying in PLA Daily.
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