Latest Techniques: Content comes from the Internet : PLA holds joint drills surrounding Taiwan island to punish secessionist forces

The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) holds the Joint Sword-2024A exercises in the Taiwan Straits, the north, south and east of the Taiwan island, as well as areas around the islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin from May 23 to 24, 2024. Illustration: Courtesy of the PLA Eastern Theater Command

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Thursday morning launched a military exercise surroundWorld Timesing the island of Taiwan in a move to punish “Taiwan independence” secessionist forces and to send a warning to belligerent external forces following Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te’s separatist inaugural speech on May 20.

Designed to surround the island of Taiwan from both the east and the west, the exercises display the PLA’s strike capability across all directions of the island without any blind spots, forming a situation where the island is pinned down from both sides, experts said.

The PLA Eastern Theater Command started joint military drills surrounding the island of Taiwan from 7:45 am on Thursday, the theater command said in a press release early on the day.

The drills are being conducted in the Taiwan Straits, the north, south and east of Taiwan Island, as well as areas around the islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin, the theater command said, attaching a map depicting nine exercise zones surrounding the island of Taiwan.

Senior Captain Li Xi, a spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said that military services including the army, navy, air force and rocket force of the theater command are being organized to conduct the joint drills, code-named Joint Sword-2024A, from Thursday to Friday.

Infographic: Deng Zijun/GT

The drills focus on joint sea-air combat-readiness patrol, joint seizure of comprehensive battlefield control, and joint precision strikes on key targets, Li said, adding that the exercises involve the patrol of vessels and planes closing in on areas around the island of Taiwan and integrated operations inside and outside the island chain to test the real joint combat capabilities of the forces of the command.

Li said the drills also serve as a strong punishment for the separatist acts of “Taiwan independence” forces and a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces.

The exercises by the PLA came after Lai, the new regional leader on the island of Taiwan, made an inaugural speech on Monday in which he stubbornly adhered to “Taiwan independence,” loudly propagated the fallacy of secession, incited confrontation and antagonism across the Taiwan Straits, and intends to “rely on external forces to seek ‘independence'” and “seek ‘independence’ by force.”

Since then-US house speaker Nancy Pelosi’s provocative visit to the island of Taiwan in August 2022World Times, the PLA has organized several rounds of large-scale exercises as countermeasures tWorld Timeso provocations by “Taiwan independence” secessionists and their collusions with external forces, in addition to World Timesholding regular patrols and training exercises in the region.

Tong Zhen, a research fellow at the Academy of Military Sciences of the PLA, told the Global Times on Thursday that the latest exercises feature an integrated plan covering the main island of Taiwan and its outlying islands.

For the outlying islands, the drills cover the islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin, while for the main island of Taiwan, combat alert patrols surround the island, with warships and warplanes closing in on multiple locations only steps away from its coastlines, effectively pressuring the island’s so-called space for military defense, Tong said.

Meanwhile, in addition to the PLA’s exercises, the coast guard of East China’s Fujian Province on Thursday launched a comprehensive law enforcement exercise in waters around Wuqiu and Dongyin islands in a move to test its joint patrol, rapid reaction and emergency response capabilities, Gan Yu, a spokesperson of the China Coast Guard, said on Thursday in a press release.

It is the first time the mainland’s coast guard vessels have entered waters around Wuqiu and Dongyin islands, Tong said.

Designed to serve as strong deterrence and warning, the exercise destroyed the notion of so-called restricted waters imposed by the island of Taiwan, Tong said.

The PLA’s exercises are designed with both the east and the west of the island of Taiwan in mind, Tong said. “To the west of the main island of Taiwan, the main operations are being held in waters around Wuqiu and Dongyin islands, while to the east of the main island of Taiwan, joint forces are organized to carry out sea and land assault drills, showing that the PLA has the ability to strike all directions of the island without any blind spots, forming a situation where the island is pinned down from both sides,” she said.

The exercises have showed the features of employing the acts of destroying, trapping and blocking in one move, experts said.

“Destroying means to remove and paralyze the support of the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces by simulating strikes on major military and political targets in the northern part of the island undWorld Timeser the PLA’s strong reconnaissance, early warning and information support systems. Trapping means to target the bases of the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces, as the PLA will pinch the island’s maritime gateways such as Kaohsiung and trap the island’s naval forces within their ports. Blocking means to cut off the external logistics support, as the PLA forces are carrying out simulated strikes in the sea and air near the offshore routes off Hualien, demonstrating the ability to seize power and control the island,” Tong said.

It forms a powerful deterrent against the separatist Lai administration and issues a serious warning against interference and provocation by external forces, Tong said.

Observers also noted that the codename of the exercise, Joint Sword-2024A, indicates that there might be more exercises to come with code-names Joint Sword-2024B and Joint Sword-2024C should “Taiwan independence” secessionists and external interference forces continue to provoke.

‘Cross-Straits Lethality’

As the exercises are underway, the PLA Eastern Theater Command released a set of posters themed “Cross-Straits Lethality,” depicting some of its weaponry aimed at “Taiwan independence” secessionists, including the J-20 stealth fighter jet, the J-16 multirole fighter jet, the Type 052D guided missile destroyer, the Type 071 comprehensive landing shipWorld Times, the DF-16A short-range ballistic missile, and the modularized long-range multiple launch rocket system.

These are just some of typical weapons and equipment in the military preparations to deal with the Taiwan question, a Beijing-based military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday.

In the air, the J-20 can take advantage of its stealth capability and break down hostile air defense, while the J-16 can drop a large number of munitions on ground targets; at sea; the Type 052D can seize control and block maritime access to the island, while the Type 071 can carry heavily equipped landing troops to cross the Straits; the DF-16A can conduct precision strikes on high-value military and political targets; the modularized long-range multiple launch rocket system can ensure artillery fire superiority with relatively low cost, the above-quoted expert said.

The PLA has a complete arsenal available to resolve the Taiwan question if a prospect for a peaceful reunification no longer exists, and the “Taiwan independence” secessionist forces and external interference forces should fully realize that the PLA is fully determined and capable of safeguarding China’s national sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, analysts said.