The Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command said it conducted a long-range live-fire exercise in the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Earlier in the day, Chinese state media said exercises to simulate an air and sea “blockade” around Taiwan had begun on Wednesday, but offered little hard evidence to support the claim.
The military posture was a deliberate show of force after Pelosi left the island Wednesday evening, bound for South Korea.
On Thursday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said its military was maintaining a “normal” but cautious posture and called the live-fire drills an “irrational act” that sought to “change the status quo.”
“We are closely monitoring the enemy’s activities around the Taiwan Sea and the outlying islands, and will act accordingly,” the ministry said in a statement.
Exercises that apply pressure
Long before Pelosi’s 24-hour visit to Taiwan, China had warned that her presence was unwelcome. The ruling Chinese Communist Party claims the self-governing island as its own territory, despite never having controlled it.
China released a map showing six areas around Taiwan that would be the site of drills in the coming days. But on Thursday, Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau said in a warning that China had added a seventh military exercise area for ships and aircraft to avoid “in the waters around eastern Taiwan.”
Chinese state media on Thursday described a wide range of objectives for the exercises, including attacks on land and sea targets.
“The exercises focus on key training sessions such as joint blockade, assault on maritime targets, attack on land targets and airspace control operations, and the joint combat capabilities of the troops were tested in military operations,” said an announcement by the Xinhua news agency attributed to the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which has responsibility for areas near Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the Global Times tabloid said the drills involved some of China’s newest and most sophisticated weapons, including J-20 stealth fighters and DF-17 hypersonic missiles, and that some missiles could be fired over the island , a move that would be extremely provocative
“The drills are unprecedented as PLA conventional missiles are expected to fly over the island of Taiwan for the first time,” the Global Times quoted experts as saying.
“PLA forces will enter areas within 12 nautical miles of the island and the so-called middle line will cease to exist.”
Taiwan’s accounts of the Chinese military move included fighter jets crossing the median line and a report by Taiwan’s government-run Central News Agency, citing government sources, that two of China’s most powerful warships – Type 55 destroyers were sighted Tuesday off the island’s central and southeastern coast, the closest 37 miles (60 kilometers) from land.
But there was little corroboration or hard evidence provided by China to support the kind of claims published in the Global Times.
China’s state television provided video of fighter jets taking off, ships at sea and missiles in motion, but the dates this video was recorded could not be verified.
Some analysts were skeptical that Beijing could achieve what it threatened, such as a blockade of Taiwan.
“The official announcement (of the blockade) refers to only a few days, which would make it difficult to qualify a blockade in practice,” said Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy at King’s College London.
“Lockdowns are difficult to execute and time-consuming to implement. This exercise is not that,” he said.
Patalano said the biggest impact of the exercises would be psychological.
“During the time period in question, ships and aircraft are likely to be diverted to avoid the area, but that is a primary purpose of the chosen locations – to create disruption, inconvenience and fear of the worst to come,” he said.
Deflect planes and ships
China’s retaliatory drills have already caused disruptions to flight and ship schedules in Taiwan, although the island is trying to minimize the impact.
Taiwan’s transport minister said agreements had been reached with Japan and the Philippines to redirect 18 international flight routes leaving the island, affecting about 300 flights in total, to avoid live fire drills of the PLA.
And on Wednesday, Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau issued three warnings, asking ships to use alternative routes to seven ports on the island.
Live fire drills planned in China were also causing unease in Japan.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the exercises posed a threat to his country’s security.
One of the six exercise areas established by China was located near the Japanese island of Yonaguni, part of Okinawa Prefecture and only 110 kilometers off the coast of Taiwan.
This same Chinese exercise area is also close to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, an uninhabited rock chain known as the Diaoyus in China, over which Beijing claims sovereignty.
“In particular, a training area has been established in the waters near Japan, and if China were to conduct live ammunition drills in this area, it could affect the security of Japan and its people,” Matsuno said.
The US military, meanwhile, remained silent on the Chinese drills and did not respond to CNN’s questions on Thursday.
In addition to closely monitoring Chinese military movements on the island, Taiwan also said it would strengthen security against cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.
Taiwan’s cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng told a press conference on Wednesday that the government had improved security at key infrastructure points and raised the cyber security alert level at government offices.
Taiwan is anticipating an increase in “cognitive warfare,” referring to disinformation campaigns used to influence public opinion, Lo said.
CNN’s Wayne Chang and Eric Cheung contributed to this report.