BEIJING: China’s military on Wednesday ( Apr 2 ) launched military exercises code-named” Strait Thunder-2025A” in the middle and southern areas of the Taiwan Strait, continuing drills begun the previous day.
The activities follow a surge in Chinese language against Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who China called a “parasite” on Tuesday, and appear on the feet of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Asia visit, during which he frequently criticised Beijing.
China, which views politically governed Taiwan as its own country, has consistently denounced Lai as a” secessionist”. Lai, who won the election and took office last month, rejects Beijing’s independence states and says just Taiwan’s people may choose their future.
China’s Eastern Theatre Command said the maneuvers were taking place in the middle and southeastern areas of the Taiwan Strait. Some of Taiwan’s surrounding islands are just a few miles from China.
” The exercises focus on subjects of identification and verification, warning and expulsion, and interception and detention so as to test the army ‘ features of area regulation and control, combined blockade and power, and precision attacks on key goals”, it said in a statement.
A top Taiwan safety official told Reuters there were more than 10 Chinese ships in Taiwan’s “response area” on Wednesday night, and that China’s coast guard was participating with “harassment” training.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said that in the previous 24 hours it had detected 76 Chinese military aircraft and 15 Chinese military ships operating around the island.
China had not formally named Tuesday’s drills. China called two rounds of major war games last year around the island Joint Sword-2024A and Joint Sword-2024B.
The United States, Taiwan’s most important international backer and main arms supplier despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, condemned the exercises.
” Once again, China’s aggressive military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan only serve to exacerbate tensions and put the region’s security and the world’s prosperity at risk”, the US State Department said in a statement.
Japan and the European Union also expressed concern.
” The EU has a direct interest in the preservation of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. We oppose any unilateral actions that change the status quo by force or coercion”, an EU spokesperson said