The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has recently conducted military drills in the vicinity of Taiwan. But this time, it wasn't done to send a message but to practice intercepting U.S. forces that would come to the aid of the island nation.
Taiwanese authorities and defense analysts have pointed out the "silence" of these military exercises, which feature swarms of fighter jets and warships. Previous large-scale military maneuvers from Beijing often came with waves of propaganda meant to intimidate Taipei.
But this time, the PLA went low profile with the drills, which means that the Chinese military is working to enhance its ability to encircle Taiwan, neutralize the island's geographical advantages and prevent potential U.S. intervention in case of an invasion. (Related: China increases military budget to $224 BILLION in preparation for invasion of Taiwan.)
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) detected a record-high 103 planes from the PLA Air Force in areas surrounding the island in one day, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The day after that, 55 Chinese aircraft conducted sorties near the island.
Meanwhile, at sea, an unusually large group of Chinese aircraft carriers accompanied by around two dozen warships sailed southeast of Taiwan in the Western Pacific. Chinese sorties have incorporated an increasing number of Y-20 transport and refueling aircraft flying alongside jet fighters to the east of Taiwan.
China continues practicing for an INVASION of Taiwan
Taiwan has historically considered its geographical terrain, including steep mountain ranges acting as a natural barrier, as one of its primary advantages in deterring a Chinese invasion. The island's military strategy has centered on maintaining control of the east coast, where it anticipated holding out long enough for potential U.S. assistance.
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The presence of American forces in the waters around Taiwan further complicates any potential Chinese invasion plans. To counter this, the PLA has adopted a strategy known as "anti-access/area denial" (A2/AD) to block a U.S. response.
"They're getting better, and I think this drill is kind of proof that they're trying," said Ben Lewis, an independent military analyst based in Washington, D.C. who has been monitoring daily PLA activities for nearly two years.
"We will surely study the PLA's likely courses of action and plan for proper response measures," said MND spokesman Maj. Gen. Sun Li-fang. "The closer the PLA's aircraft are to Taiwan, the stronger our countermeasures will be."
However, the Taiwanese military has observed an increasing number of Chinese fighter jets and drones on the island's east side. For Shen Ming-Shih of the Taiwanese Institute for National Defense and Security Research, this poses a significant risk to key military and civilian infrastructure.
He pointed to the vulnerability of Taiwan's upcoming fleet of advanced F-16V jet fighters, which previously could be stationed safely at bases near the eastern cities of Hualien and Taitung. The expansion of the PLA means that the Chinese military could bypass the east coast to launch attacks on these essential bases.
Military analysts suggest that Chinese jet fighters lack the necessary range for extended operations on Taiwan's east coast, necessitating the use of Y-20 transport aircraft for refueling. The PLA recently organized fighter units to conduct refueling operations with these transport jets, according to Chieh Chung, an associate research fellow with the National Policy Foundation, a Taipei-based think tank affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang).
China still faces significant challenges in dealing with a potential U.S. military intervention, given Taiwan's advanced air-defense systems, according to analysts. "They need to do a lot more of these drills before I would say that they're really in a position to realistically threaten the United States' ability to intervene in the conflict in the Taiwan Strait," said Lewis.
However, the PLA's capacity to deny U.S. access is expected to improve significantly when the 1,000-foot Chinese aircraft carrier, the Fujian, enters service in 2025.
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