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Beijing says the two-day military exercises are intended to discourage Taiwan from seeking independence.
The Chinese military has released videos showing a two-day drill conducted near Taiwan earlier this week.
The ‘Strait Thunder’ exercise, launched on Tuesday by the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command (ETC), involved multiple branches of the Chinese military. According to command spokesman Shi Yi, the exercises focused on “identification and verification, warning and expulsion, and interception and detention” of targets and were designed to prepare for a potential blockade of Taiwan.
The PLA deployed the Shandong Aircraft Carrier Task Group, featuring the domestically built flagship commissioned in 2019. A video released on Wednesday showcased the carrier’s primary armament of two dozen Shenyang J-15 naval fighter jets.
Another video from the ETC showed an early morning alert at military barracks, followed by the deployment of rocket launch systems for a live-fire drill. The video indicated these weapons could directly target Taiwan’s coastline in a conflict.
Footage released on Tuesday also showed PLA Air Force aircraft participating in the exercise.
Taiwan is governed by a party that descended from Nationalist forces defeated by Communists in the Chinese Civil War in the 1940s. While Washington acknowledges Beijing’s sovereignty over Taiwan, it provides military support to Taipei, which Beijing sees as encouraging Taiwan to seek formal independence.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang stated on Wednesday that “’Taiwan independence’ and peace in the Taiwan Strait are incompatible,” adding that “Pursuing ‘Taiwanese independence’ will only put Taiwan in a dangerous situation and plunge Taiwan compatriots into dire straits.”
Beijing prefers peaceful reunification but has warned it could use force against separatist efforts. Regarding the ‘Strait Thunder’ exercises, the Defense Ministry called the current government under President Lai Ching-te “crisis makers” and “troublemakers.”