China Conducts Extensive Military Exercises Around Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan — On Tuesday, the Chinese military declared the commencement of extensive drills in the sea and airspace surrounding Taiwan. These exercises involve a carrier battle group and serve as a renewed warning to the self-governed island against pursuing official independence.

According to Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, the joint drills, encompassing naval, air, ground, and rocket forces, are intended as a “severe warning and forceful containment against Taiwan independence.” The drills were unannounced and have no designated operational name.

China views Taiwan as a part of its territory, which it may bring under control by force if necessary. Conversely, the majority of Taiwanese citizens favor their de facto independence and democratic governance. Any potential conflict could involve the U.S., which has alliances in the area and is legally obligated to treat threats to Taiwan with “grave concern.”

Taiwan’s Presidential Office stated on X, “China’s blatant military provocations not only threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait but also undermine security in the entire region, as evidenced by drills near Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines & the SCS. We strongly condemn China’s escalatory behavior.”

The SCS refers to the South China Sea, a strategically important waterway largely claimed by China. The Chinese navy recently conducted drills near Australia and New Zealand without prior notification, causing commercial flights to reroute at the last minute.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported tracking 19 Chinese navy ships in the waters around the island over a 24-hour period, from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday.

The ministry also noted that it has been monitoring the Shandong aircraft carrier since Saturday and that its carrier group has entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, a self-defined area monitored by the military. While China routinely sends military assets into this zone, which it does not recognize, Taiwanese officials have recently cautioned that China might launch a surprise attack under the guise of military exercises.

“I want to say these actions amply reflect (China’s) destruction of regional peace and stability,” said Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo.

Koo mentioned that Taiwan has established a central response group to oversee the latest exercises.

In Taipei, residents reported a tense atmosphere but expressed greater concern about the economy and developments related to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“The Chinese Communists spend so much time and effort on these things but most people don’t pay much attention,” said Lin Hui-tsung, a noodle seller in the city’s Tiananmu district.

China’s Coast Guard also announced a “law enforcement patrol” around Taiwan on Tuesday, according to spokesperson Zhu Anqin.

These drills follow a large-scale exercise two weeks prior, during which Beijing dispatched numerous drones and ships toward the island.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office stated that the exercises target Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s president, who strongly supports independence.

“Lai Ching-te stubbornly insists on a ‘Taiwan independence’ stance, brazenly labeling the mainland as a ‘foreign hostile force,’ and has put forward a so-called “17-point strategy … stirring up anti-China sentiments,” said China’s Taiwan Affairs Office in a statement on Tuesday. “We will not tolerate or condone this in any way and must resolutely counter and severely punish these actions.”

In mid-March, Taiwan’s Lai introduced a 17-point strategy to bolster Taiwan’s national security. The points involve permitting military courts to try espionage cases and imposing stricter immigration rules for Chinese citizens seeking permanent residency.

Lai’s statements and actions appear to have particularly angered Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whose prior attempts at intimidation have had limited impact on the Taiwanese population. These actions have often coincided with expressions of Taiwanese independence, including a visit from then-U.S. House leader Nancy Pelosi.

China’s PLA also released videos promoting their military exercise, including one portraying Lai as a green parasite “poisoning” the island by hatching smaller parasites. The video depicted Lai’s head on a bulbous green worm’s body, with chopsticks picking him up and roasting him over a flame set over Taiwan.

China has been sending military assets toward the island daily, attempting to weaken Taiwanese defenses and morale, despite the vast majority of the island’s 23 million people rejecting China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan. In recent years, China has increased the scope and scale of these exercises, from deploying small numbers of individual fighters and surveillance planes to sending groups of planes, drones, and ships.

“The PLA organized naval and air forces to practice subjects such as sea and land strikes, focusing on testing the troops’ ability to carry out precision strikes on some key targets of the Taiwan authorities from multiple directions,” said Zhang Chi, a professor at China’s National Defense University, in an interview with Chinese state television.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war 76 years ago, but China has cut off almost all contacts with Taipei since 2016.

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Wu reported from Bangkok. Christopher Bodeen contributed to this report from Taipei, Taiwan.

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