The Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command said it held long-range live firearms training in the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Earlier in the day, Chinese state media said exercises simulating an air and sea “blockade” around Taiwan began Wednesday but offered little solid evidence to back up the claim.
The military stance was a deliberate show of force after Pelosi left the island for South Korea on Wednesday night.
On Thursday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said its military was maintaining a “normal” but cautious stance, calling the live-fire drills an “irrational act” trying to “change the status quo.”
“We are closely monitoring hostile activities around the Taiwan Sea and offshore islands and will act as appropriate,” the ministry said in a statement.
pressure exercises
Long before Pelosi’s nearly 24-hour visit to Taiwan, China had warned that her presence was undesirable. The ruling Chinese Communist Party claims the self-governing island as its own territory, although it has never controlled it.
China has released a map showing six zones around Taiwan that would be the scene of drills in the coming days. But on Thursday Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau said in a statement that China has added a seventh military exercise area for ships and aircraft to avoid “in the waters around eastern Taiwan.”
Chinese state media on Thursday outlined a wide range of targets for the exercises, including attacks on land and sea targets.
“The exercises will focus on key training sessions, including joint blockades, sea target attacks, ground target attacks and airspace control operations, and the troops’ joint combat capabilities have been tested in the military operations,” according to an announcement by the Xinhua News Agency assigned to the People’s Eastern Theater Command Attributed to the Liberation Army (PLA) in charge of the areas near Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the Global Times tabloid said the drills included some of China’s newest and most advanced weapons, including J-20 stealth fighters and DF-17 hypersonic missiles, and that some missiles could be launched over the island — a move who does that would be extremely provocative.
“The exercises are unprecedented as the PLA conventional missiles are expected to fly over the island of Taiwan for the first time,” the Global Times said, citing experts.
“That PLA forces will enter areas within 12 nautical miles of the island and the so-called center line will cease to exist.”
Reports from Taiwan on Chinese military movements included the fighter jets crossing the center line and a report from Taiwan’s government-run Central News Agency, citing government sources that two of China’s most powerful warships — Type 55 destroyers — on Tuesday sightings have been made from the island’s central and south-eastern coasts, with the closest being 60 kilometers from land.
But there has been little confirmation or clear evidence presented by China to support the kinds of claims published in the Global Times.
China’s state television showed videos of fighter jets taking off, ships at sea and missiles moving, but the date when this video was shot could not be verified.
Some analysts were skeptical that Beijing could pull through what they threatened, such as a blockade on Taiwan.
“The official announcement (of the blockade) is for just a few days, which would make it difficult to practically qualify as a blockade,” said Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy at King’s College London.
“Blockades are difficult to carry out and take a long time to implement. This exercise isn’t,” he said.
Patalano said the biggest effects of the exercises are psychological.
“During the period in question, ships and planes will likely divert to avoid the area, but this is one of the main goals of the chosen sites: to create disruption, uneasiness and the fear of worse,” he said.
Divert planes and ships
China’s retaliatory drills have already disrupted Taiwan’s flight and shipping schedules, although the island is trying to lessen their impact.
Taiwan’s transport minister said agreements had been reached Reached with Japan and the Philippines to divert 18 international air routes departing from the island – affecting about 300 flights in total – to avoid the PLA’s live-fire drills.
And on Wednesday, Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Authority issued three notices urging ships to use alternate routes for seven ports across the island.
China’s planned live-fire exercises also caused unrest in Japan.
Japan’s top cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the exercises posed a threat to his country’s security.
One of the six practice areas set up by China was located near the Japanese island of Yonaguni, which is part of Okinawa Prefecture and is just 110 kilometers off the coast of Taiwan.
The same Chinese exercise zone is also near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, a rocky uninhabited chain known in China as the Diaoyus over which Beijing claims sovereignty.
“Specifically, a training area has been established in the waters near Japan, and if China held live ammunition drills in such an area, it could affect the safety of Japan and its people,” Matsuno said.
Meanwhile, the US military remained silent on the Chinese exercises and did not respond to CNN questions on Thursday.
In addition to keeping an eye on Chinese military movements on the island, Taiwan said it will step up security against cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.
Taiwan’s cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng said in a news briefing on Wednesday that the government has improved security at key infrastructure points and ramped up cybersecurity readiness in all government departments.
Taiwan anticipates increasing “cognitive warfare,” referring to disinformation campaigns used to sway public opinion, Lo said.
CNN’s Wayne Chang and Eric Cheung contributed to this report.