China unveils ‘paralysing strikes' poster as it shares code name of live-fire drills around Taiwan

Independent

02-04-2025

The Chinese military unveiled a poster titled 'paralysing strikes' as it carried out live-fire drills around Taiwan in the latest show of force amid rising tensions in the region.
The Eastern Theatre Command of the People's Liberation Army said on Wednesday that the latest wargames were part of its 'Strait Thunder 2025A' drills, suggesting that they could be followed by group B exercises in the near future.
The drills on Wednesday employed the Shandong aircraft carrier task group to simulate strikes on ground and maritime targets east of Taiwan. The exercises included vessel-aircraft coordination, seizure of area air superiority, and strikes on ground and maritime targets, the military said in a statement.
The new poster, state media outlet Global Times reported, was captioned, 'Against the tide of history. Heading for a dead end'.
The message, seen as a thinly veiled threat to Taiwan and its Western allies, came a day after a video announcing the drills called Taiwanese president Lai Ching Te a 'parasite', depicting him as a cartoon bug held up by a pair of chopsticks above a burning Taiwan.
Senior colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the Eastern Theatre Command, said the 'Strait Thunder 2025A' exercises were conducted in the central and southern parts of the Taiwan Strait and focussed on 'the implementation of inspection and identification, warning and expelling, interception and seizure and other subjects'.
The military said the drills were meant to practice precision strikes on port and energy facilities but did not offer details on the exact location.
The exercises came on the heels of US defence secretary Pete Hegseth 's ongoing tour of Asia during which he visited many countries and criticised China, emphasising that countering its threat to Taiwan was a key priority for Washington.
China, which considers Taiwan as its territory, has carried out numerous drills around the island in recent years. Beijing has escalated its rhetoric against Mr Lai, who was elected last year, denouncing him as 'separatist' for pushing for sovereignty.
In view of the surprise military drills, China's Maritime Safety Administration announced closure until Thursday night of the shipping zone in the northern part of the eastern province of Zhejiang, more than 500km from Taiwan.
Taiwan's defence ministry, in its latest update on Wednesday, said 76 Chinese aircraft and 15 warships had operated around Taiwan in the past 24 hours.
An unnamed Taiwanese security official told Reuters that more than 10 Chinese warships operated in the island's "response zone" on Wednesday morning and that China's coast guard was participating with "harassment" drills.
It's likely that China will conduct a second round of the exercises, following the precedent set by last year's major war games Joint Sword 2024A and Joint Sword 2024B.
Taiwan's security officials said Beijing was attempting to normalise drills near Taiwan as it had been carrying out such patrols near the island every 7-10 days on average.
Taiwan has faced the threat of a Chinese invasion since 1949 when the Republic of China government retreated to the island after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong's communists. In spite of ongoing tensions, however, the two sides have not engaged in direct military conflict.