The Chinese military on Sunday simulated a series of “precision strikes” against key targets in Taiwan, as Chinese battleships, fighter jets and drones carried out a second straight day of major drills just miles from the island.
China’s state-run China Daily newspaper reported that the military’s Eastern Theater Command oversaw the drills, which appear to simulate the early stages of a direct attack on Taiwan. “After testing the forces’ capability of seizing dominance at sea, in the air and in the information domain on Saturday, multiple types of units carried out simulated joint precision strikes on key targets on the island and the surrounding sea areas, and continue to maintain a situation of deterrence and suppression around the island,” the newspaper said, summarizing comments from People’s Liberation Army officials.
“During the drill on Sunday, destroyers, frigates and missile boats worked closely to track simulated targets … southwest of the island. The patrol ships then surrounded the targets from all directions,” the paper said. During the drills, Chinese ships reportedly came within just five nautical miles of Taiwanese vessels. Sunday marked the second day of China’s major drills in the Taiwan Strait. A day earlier, at least 45 Chinese warplanes crossed into Taiwanese airspace. A total of 71 Chinese People’s Liberation Army aircraft and nine vessels involved in the exercises were detected by Taiwanese defense forces on Saturday alone. Taiwanese defense forces “have monitored the situation and tasked our assets to respond to these provocative activities,” the National Defense Ministry said in a statement on Twitter. China announced that it would carry out the three-day “combat readiness patrols” as a warning to those advocating for Taiwanese independence after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week. Chinese leaders have fumed over the visit. The Biden administration said the meeting should not be used by Beijing as pretext for any aggression around Taiwan. But the weekend drills suggest a China willing to take more provocative actions. Some key U.S. lawmakers believe Beijing may be carrying out rehearsals for even more drastic steps. “I think they’re setting the stage possibly for a blockade of Taiwan, that the Communist Chinese Party is going to test us dramatically this year and next year before the [U.S. presidential] election,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, told “Fox News Sunday.” “I am fearful the Chinese may be setting conditions to blockade Taiwan in the coming months or weeks,” Mr. Graham said. “We need to respond forcefully if they do that.” Among other steps, Mr. Graham said the U.S. should impose a blockade on oil shipments to China from the Middle East.
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