Chinese PLA drills simulating Taiwan blockade seen to become new ‘normal’
- PLA Eastern Theatre Command says joint navy and air force drills will continue, to prepare for ‘defence’ and ‘blockade’ operations
- Beijing ‘determined to link the East and South China seas through the Taiwan Strait’, Taiwanese foreign minister declares
The scale of future People’s Liberation Army drills, however, will depend on actions taken by Taipei and Washington, they believe.
This comes as the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command said joint navy and air force drills would continue around Taiwan, in preparation for operations of “joint defence” and “joint blockade”.
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Taipei residents shrug off PLA drills near Taiwan as mainland Chinese public back Beijing’s actions
As of 5pm on Tuesday, the Taiwanese defence ministry had detected a total of 10 PLA fighter jets and 45 aircraft taking part in the drills. As many as 16 had crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait, a de facto boundary between the self-governed island and mainland China that both sides have largely honoured over the decades.
Beijing’s Maritime Safety Administration also issued navigation warnings, restricting entry into waters east of Nanshan island in the South China Sea from 8am to 6pm until Thursday, as well as the southern waters of the Yellow Sea from 9am to 4pm between Thursday and Saturday.
The PLA manoeuvres started with four days of large-scale live-fire drills last Thursday, shortly after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan following an unannounced trip which Beijing had repeatedly warned against.
On Tuesday, Taiwan’s military launched its own live-fire artillery drills in the southern county of Pingtung. The hour-long exercise simulating defence of the island, the first of two planned this week, started with the firing of target flares.
