The Chinese military staged a second day of exercises around Taiwan on Wednesday, launching live-fire strikes in the East China Sea and practicing blockade operations near crucial shipping lanes to the east and west of the island.
China has ramped up the frequency and complexity of its military drills around Taiwan in recent years – exercises that analysts say serve both as critical preparation and strategic cover for a potential future invasion of the self-governing island.
On Wednesday, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched exercises – codenamed “Strait Thunder-2025A” – in the middle and southern areas of the Taiwan Strait, focusing on testing the troops’ capabilities of “joint blockade and control” and “precision strikes on key targets,” the Eastern Theater Command’s spokesperson Senior Colonel Shi Yi said in a statement.
As part of the drills, the ground army of the Eastern Theater Command conducted “live-fire long-range strike drills in designated areas of the East China Sea,” Shi said.
“The drills involved precision strikes on simulated targets such as key ports and energy facilities and achieved the intended results,” he added.
A video released by the Eastern Theater Command showed PLA soldiers driving military trucks mounted with rocket artillery systems into position under the cover of night. Later, the footage captured rockets streaking into the sky before striking simulated coastal targets.
The PLA did not specify the location of the live-fire drills, but China’s Maritime Safety Administration issued a notice on Tuesday designating a restricted area along the coast of Zhejiang province, banning vessels from entering between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6 p.m. Thursday due to “military operations.”
Meanwhile, to the east of Taiwan, China’s Shandong aircraft carrier group conducted exercises with PLA naval and air forces, Shi said in a separate statement.
Those drills focused on “ship-aircraft coordination, regional air superiority, and strikes against sea and land targets,” with an emphasis on “multi-dimensional blockade capabilities,” according to the statement.
Taiwan’s defense ministry denounced the drills as “aggressive, provocative, and irresponsible” on Wednesday, adding that the island’s military will remain on high alert.
“Beijing’s reckless provocation of regional tensions, using global security and prosperity as bargaining chips, reveals its hegemonic mindset – one that treats lives as expendable and dismisses international rules altogether,” the ministry said in a statement.
Wednesday’s drills came a day after the PLA conducted surprise joint exercises involving its army, navy, air force and rocket force from multiple directions around Taiwan, just days after US defense chief Pete Hegseth vowed to counter “China’s aggression” on his first visit to Asia.
The United States, Taiwan’s biggest international backer, condemned what it called “China’s irresponsible threats and military pressure operations near Taiwan.”
“China’s escalating military intimidation tactics only serve to exacerbate tensions and undermine cross-Strait peace and stability,” the State Department said in a statement.
Rising tensions
For Taiwan, a democracy of some 23 million people that sits just 80 miles from China at its nearest point, the drills are the latest reminder of the threat that comes from its giant Communist Party-run neighbor, which claims the island as its own and has vowed to seize it by force if necessary.
The island’s defense ministry said it detected 76 Chinese warplanes, 13 PLA vessels and four Chinese coast guard ships near Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. Wednesday local time.
But on the streets of Taipei, few people seemed to be paying close attention to the PLA’s activities.
“These drills happen so frequently they’re now like a daily routine,” said Lin, a man in his 50s.
“People here will not be too frightened by this,” said Hawkin Yee, another resident.
The PLA’s Eastern Theater Command said the drills were meant as a “stern warning and forceful deterrence against ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces.” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office called the exercises “a severe punishment” for Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s “rampant provocations for ‘independence.’”
In an animated propaganda video about the drills released by the Eastern Theater Command, Lai was depicted as a green cartoon bug and a “parasite” poisoning the island.
Last month, Lai called China a “foreign hostile force” and announced 17 measures to ramp up Taiwan’s security and counter Chinese espionage and infiltration. They included restoring a military court system for crimes such as spying and strengthening oversight on visits by Chinese citizens.
China’s increased regular patrols and military exercises in the air and waters around Taiwan are part of a broader assertiveness of Beijing’s territorial claims under Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Analysts say China’s military drills are not only a show of strength intended to intimidate Taiwan, but also serve important practical and strategic purposes.
“Amphibious assaults are among the most difficult and complicated military operations going, and China can’t just build the ships and then charge over to Taiwan, they have to run drills and get experience in all the things that such an assault would require,” said David Silbey, a professor of history at Cornell University specializing in military history, defense policy, and battlefield analysis.
China could be setting up such drills as cover for an invasion, Silbey added.
“If the Chinese are planning to launch an assault under cover of a training exercise, they need to prepare for that by having regular real training exercises so that the invasion cover doesn’t look odd,” he said.
China did not say how long the ongoing exercises would last. However, the codename of Wednesday’s exercise suggests it is expected to be followed by “Strait Thunder-2025B” later this year.
“The Eastern Theater Command’s exercise program has transitioned over the last two years from three to four exercises a year to almost monthly operations,” said Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center.
“The Eastern Theater Command’s staff and components have become more adept and flexible at planning service and joint operations,” he said, noting that they consist of a series of scenarios or activity packages that can be added as required to fit Beijing’s political warfare or military objectives.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Brad Lendon contributed reporting.