China’s Eastern Theater Command: Multi-Force Exercise Aims to Assess Military Combat Capability
According to the Chinese army’s statement, these exercises are designed to evaluate the cooperative combat abilities of the army, navy, air force, and rocket force in a joint operation context.
The drills will take place from diverse directions around Taiwan and will cover “sea and air combat readiness patrols, taking control comprehensively, sea and land strikes, and blocking key areas and roads,” as declared by the Eastern Theater Command.
In response, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence has criticized the exercises, deploying ships and aircraft to monitor the situation, with China viewing Taiwan as part of its territory and maintaining a stance on potential forced reunification.
Wen-ti Sung, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, suggests the military exercises prioritize containment and isolation strategies around Taiwan, including potential quarantine or embargo tactics, possibly aimed at forcing Taiwan into submission.
Sung notes that Beijing’s Communist Party perceives Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te and the Democratic Progressive Party as separatists, amplifying tensions through military displays, such as an animation that portrays Lai negatively.
Regardless of the increased military activity, Lai’s policy towards China has majority support in Taiwan, with his recent call for curtailing China’s influence meeting with public approval, according to My Formosa’s polling data.
China previously conducted military exercises in December following Lai’s visits to Taiwan’s allies in the Pacific and stops in Hawaii and Guam.
The current escalation in drills began in August 2022, influenced by the historic visit to Taiwan by then-United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
