China holds large-scale surprise military drills around Taiwan

China on Tuesday launched large-scale military drills involving its army, navy, air, and rocket forces to encircle Taiwan, claiming the exercises were a rehearsal for “precision strikes” and a blockade of the self-ruled island.

Taiwan dispatched its own aircraft and ships, and deployed land-based missile systems, in response to the ongoing exercises and accused Beijing of being the world’s “biggest troublemaker.”

The drills come after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in Japan on Sunday that the United States would ensure “deterrence” across the Taiwan Strait, and called Beijing “aggressive.”

China opposes U.S. support for Taiwan, which Beijing insists is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

Beijing has increased the deployment of fighter jets and naval vessels around Taiwan in recent years to press its claim of sovereignty, which Taipei rejects.

China deployed 21 warships around the island, including the Shandong aircraft carrier group, along with 71 aircraft and four coast guard vessels in the drills, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said.

No live fire had been detected, it said. It was the highest number of warships detected in a single day since May last year, when 27 navy vessels were reported, and the most aircraft since the 153 detected in October, according to an AFP tally of the ministry’s figures.

Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have escalated since Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te took office in May 2024.

Beijing’s leaders loathe Lai, who last month called China a “foreign hostile force” and proposed measures to combat growing Chinese espionage and infiltration.

Tuesday’s exercises were aimed at sending a “stern warning and forceful deterrence” to alleged separatists in Taiwan, Beijing said.

They involved “sea-air combat-readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, assault on maritime and ground targets, and blockade on key areas and sea lanes,” said Senior Col. Shi Yi, spokesman of the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command.

Beijing’s armed forces “close in on Taiwan Island from multiple directions”, he said.

The drills also involved training for “multi-directional precision strikes”, the Eastern Theater Command said in a statement.