The Chinese military announced on Wednesday that it had conducted long-range live-fire military exercises in the East China Sea, simulating precision strikes on major ports and energy facilities.
According to Shi Yi, spokesman for the Eastern Command of the People's Liberation Army, the exercises "achieved the desired results."
Concurrently with these movements, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense announced that it had detected extensive Chinese military movements over the past 24 hours, including 76 military aircraft and 15 warships around the island.
For the second day, Beijing continues its military maneuvers around Taiwan. Xinhua News Agency quoted a spokesperson for the Eastern Command of the People's Liberation Army as saying that the Chinese armed forces began a new round of exercises today, codenamed "Strait Thunder 2025A," in the central and southern regions of the Taiwan Strait.
The Chinese agency added that these exercises, which carried a different name from those conducted on Tuesday, focus on identifying and verifying targets, as well as warning, expulsion, deportation, and detention capabilities.
China considers Taiwan an integral part of its territory and has not ruled out resorting to force to bring it under its sovereignty. Most of the island's 23 million residents reject Chinese demands and insist on its de facto independent democratic status.
Recent years have witnessed a significant escalation in Chinese military activity around Taiwan, with Beijing moving from sending individual reconnaissance aircraft and fighter jets to operating squadrons of warplanes and drones, along with naval vessels.
Tensions date back to the split between China and Taiwan following a civil war 76 years ago, but relations have become increasingly strained since 2016 when Beijing cut off official communication channels with Taipei