PLA drills around Taiwan achieve designated results

The two-day joint exercises launched by the People's Liberation Army around the island of Taiwan, involving an aircraft carrier group, concluded on Wednesday evening, and experts said the exercises aimed to cut off resource import lines, escape routes and external support lines of "Taiwan independence" separatist forces.

The PLA conducted joint drills and training in waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island on Tuesday, involving ground, air, naval and rocket forces, and carried out the "Strait Thunder-2025A" exercise on Wednesday, according to Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the PLA's Eastern Theater Command.

The command successfully completed all tasks of the joint training, thoroughly testing the integrated joint combat capabilities of the troops, he said.

The command forces remain on high alert, continuously strengthening training and preparedness, and resolutely thwarting all "Taiwan independence" separatist activities, Shi said.

The "Strait Thunder-2025A" exercise was conducted in the middle and southern areas of the Taiwan Strait, focusing on tactics and maneuvers for identifying suspicious objects, warning and expulsion, as well as interception and seizure, Shi said in a statement on Wednesday morning.

He said the operation was intended to test the troops' capabilities in regional monitoring and control, joint blockade and precision strikes on key targets.

Carrier strike group

In addition, a carrier strike group led by the aircraft carrier CNS Shandong conducted assault drills in waters to the east of Taiwan Island.

Shi said the CNS Shandong strike group cooperated with other naval and air units to carry out exercises of vessel-aircraft coordination, regional airspace dominance, and strikes against land and sea targets.

The Ground Force of the PLA's Eastern Theater Command conducted long-range live-fire drills in waters of the East China Sea on Wednesday morning, with mock targets including major ports and energy infrastructure, and with the precision artillery strike achieving the desired results.

Wang Wenjuan, a researcher at the PLA Academy of Military Science, said that the drills on Tuesday were focused on force deployment, while Wednesday's exercise emphasized deterrence, blockade and isolation.

The operational routes indicated that the CNS Shandong aircraft carrier group quickly maneuvered to the east of Taiwan Island, coordinating with forces approaching the island from both inner and outer lines, fully demonstrating the hardcore strength to deter "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and promote reunification, she said.

Zhang Chi, a professor at PLA National Defense University, said that in recent years, the PLA's aircraft carrier groups have carried out multiple exercises to the east of Taiwan Island.

Taiwan authorities have long viewed the eastern part of the island as a so-called base for preserving military strength and a comfort zone, he said, pointing out that for a long time, "Taiwan independence" separatist forces have fantasized that the Chinese mainland would not actually take military action and that external forces would assist them.

Cutting off lifeline

However, Zhang stressed that the presence of the PLA's aircraft carrier groups to the east of the island aimed to help block "three lines" militarily.

"The first line is cutting off the lifeline of energy and resource imports for 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces. The second line is blocking the support line of external assistance to these forces," Zhang said. "The third line is preventing the escape line for separatists attempting to evade sanctions and flee."

This demonstrates that the path of "Taiwan independence" separatist forces leads only to a dead end, and that China's reunification is both inevitable and eventual, he said.

Song Tao, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said during a meeting on Wednesday with Hsia Li-yan, vice-chairman of Taiwan's opposition Chinese Kuomintang party, that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are family, not enemies. He also stressed that any provocations for "independence" are destined to fail.

Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said in a statement on Wednesday that "Taiwan independence" and peace in the Taiwan Strait are irreconcilable.

In his remarks, Zhang condemned the Taiwan authorities led by Lai Ching-te for recklessly carrying out provocative actions to seek "Taiwan independence", and for escalating tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The PLA's joint combat exercises demonstrated its strong capability to strike against "Taiwan independence" provocations, he said.

In response to other countries' comments regarding the PLA's drills around the island, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular news conference on Wednesday that the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair and brooks no external interference.

As long as provocations of "Taiwan independence" continue, countermeasures and punishments will not cease, the spokesman warned. "We will not allow anyone, any force, to separate Taiwan from China in any way, and will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity."