Huge PLA drills around Taiwan really a message to US and allies, Chinese analysts say
- Beijing’s fiery reactions aim to prevent US from driving Taiwan policy to brink of ‘a Ukraine war’, says Fudan University international studies dean
- PLA’s island blockade game likely to leave the US and allies at their wits’ end, Macau-based observer forecasts
“US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit [last week] pushed China to kick off a string of counter-attacks and measures against the US and Taiwan, which are all comprehensive and deliberate moves to prevent the US from driving their Taiwan policy to the brink of ‘a Ukraine war’,” Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Shanghai’s Fudan University, said.
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Mainland China launches largest military drill in the Taiwan Strait after Pelosi’s visit
For the first time, the PLA fired ballistic missiles directly over Taiwan and sent drones over the airspace of Quemoy, Taiwan-controlled islands just off the mainland also known as the Kinmen.
On Monday, the PLA announced that war games around Taiwan would continue, with a new focus on anti-submarine and air-to-ship strikes.
A series of military drills in the northern Bohai and Yellow seas near Japan will also take place in the coming weeks.
“All these are unprecedented military operations, or a crisis aimed at sending a warning message to the US and its key allies in the region like Japan and Australia not to intervene in the Taiwan issue,” Wu said.
Beijing has also cancelled bilateral dialogues between Chinese and US military theatres and defence ministries, as well exchanges on maritime military safety, as part of its reaction to Pelosi’s “provocative” visit last week.