1 week Ago By AFP
China’s military said it practised hitting key ports and energy sites during “live-fire” drills Wednesday as part of exercises aimed at Taiwan, the democratic island it claims as its own.A photo, released by the Taiwanese Coast Guard on April 1, 2025, shows a Chinese Coast Guard vessel in waters off Taiwan’s Matsu Island. Photo: Taiwan Coast Guard.
The surprise manoeuvres were criticised by Washington as “intimidation tactics” and come after Taiwan President Lai Ching-te called China a “foreign hostile force”.Named “Strait Thunder-2025A”, the drills were in the middle and southern parts of the Taiwan Strait as well as the East China Sea, the military said.The strait is a vital artery for global shipping.
The military said it held “long-range live-fire drills” and practised hitting “simulated targets of key ports and energy facilities” during the exercises.Wednesday’s exercises aim to “test the troops’ capabilities” in areas such as “blockade and control, and precision strikes on key targets”, said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman of the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command.China’s Shandong aircraft carrier was also carrying out drills testing the ability to “blockade” Taiwan, the Eastern Theater Command said.
Taipei has condemned the Chinese exercises.The island of 23 million people is a potential flashpoint between China and the United States, which is Taiwan’s most important security partner.#ROCArmedForces have deployed mission aircraft, vessels, and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor and maintain situational awareness of #PLA aircraft and ships entering our response zone.
pic.twitter.com/BVX7VurPCT— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) April 1, 2025The US State Department said Beijing’s “aggressive” military activities and rhetoric towards Taiwan “only serve to exacerbate tensions and put the region’s security and the world’s prosperity at risk”.
Chinese leaders vigorously oppose Washington’s support for Taiwan and detest Lai, who they call a “separatist”.Drills in the strait come a day after China sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for exercises Beijing said were aimed at practising for “precision strikes” and a blockade of the island.That prompted Taipei to dispatch its own air and maritime forces as part of a “Rapid Response Exercise”.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said Tuesday China had deployed 21 warships around the island, including the Shandong carrier group, along with 71 aircraft and four coast guard vessels.A photo released by the Taiwan Coast Guard on April 1, 2025, shows a Taiwan Coast Guard vessel (front) and a Chinese Coast Guard ship (back) sailing in waters off Taiwan’s Matsu Islands. Photo: Taiwan Coast Guard.
That was the highest number of warships detected during a single day in nearly a year, and the most aircraft since October 2024.China’s Eastern Theater Command kept up its propaganda on Wednesday, posting a “Paralysing Strikes” poster on its Weibo account, showing Chinese forces surrounding Taiwan and firing missiles at the island.Meng Xiangqing, a professor at the PLA National Defence University, warned Taiwan was vulnerable to supply disruptions due to its lack of energy and other resources.
“In the end, it will be the regular people of the island who suffer,” Meng said in a video carried by state broadcaster CCTV.‘Robust’ deterrenceBeijing has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan in recent years and held multiple large-scale exercises around the island that are often described as rehearsals for a blockade and seizure of the territory.Tensions have escalated since Lai took office in May 2024 and adopted tougher rhetoric than his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen in defending the island’s sovereignty.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te holds a press conference in Taipei on March 13, 2025. Photo: Lai Ching-te, via X.While Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign country, only 11 mostly Pacific and Caribbean countries and the Vatican recognise its claim to statehood.
Last month, Lai called China a “foreign hostile force” and proposed 17 measures to combat growing Chinese espionage and infiltration.US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed “robust, ready and credible deterrence” in the strait during a visit to the region last week.Taipei analyst Wen-Ti Sung said China was using “stress test after stress test” to gauge the strength of US President Donald Trump’s support for Taiwan and other allies in the region.
“China is creating occasion after occasion for the Trump administration to publicly show how its support...
is weaker or more conditional than in years past,” Sung told AFP.Beijing was also trying to paint Lai as “the provocateur” to get what it wants on Taiwan from Washington, including reduced US support, Eurasia Group’s Amanda Hsiao said.The White House in Washington DC.
Photo: US National Parks Services.The United States is legally bound to provide arms to Taiwan, but Washington has long maintained “strategic ambiguity” when it comes to whether it would deploy its military to defend the island from a Chinese attack.There have been concerns over Trump’s willingness to protect Taiwan, especially after he upended US support for Ukraine.
Communist China claims Taiwan has been part of its territory since “ancient times”, but it has never governed the island.The island was partly or totally ruled at various times by the Dutch, Spanish, China’s Qing dynasty and Japan, and has been inhabited by indigenous tribes for thousands of years.Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | AppsHelp safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team.
wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title {font-size: 1.2em;}.
wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta {display: flex;flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;margin-top: 0.5em;}.
wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta {font-size: 0.8em;}.
wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar {height: 25px;width: 25px;}.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .
post-thumbnail{margin: 0;margin-bottom: 0.25em;}.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .
post-thumbnail img {height: auto;width: 100%;}.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail figcaption {margin-bottom: 0.
5em;}.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles p {margin: 0.5em 0;}LATEST FROM HKFPChina military practises hitting key ports, energy sites in Taiwan drillsUS report says human rights further curtailed in Hong Kong, as city slams ‘slanders and smears’US lawmakers seek to rename street for jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy LaiMan jailed for 10 months for sedition, criminal damage over graffiti on Taiwan independence, Chinese Communist PartyHKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit..
