PLA conducts major drill near Taiwan

The command also published two themed posters that show artistic renderings of what appear to be US aircraft and vessels blocked outside the island of Taiwan. On the posters, what appear to be US C-130 transport planes, Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines and an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer are depicted turning back from their original routes toward Taiwan after finding incoming missiles and figurative metal shields from the PLA — depictions that apparently have metaphorical implications.

Zhang Xiaogang, spokesman for China's Ministry of National Defense, said, "External forces have repeatedly crossed the line on the Taiwan question recently, attempting to embolden and support 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces, exacerbating cross-strait antagonism and confrontation, severely undermining China's sovereignty and security, and seriously damaging peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."

"The Lai Ching-te administration (of the Taiwan region), by unreservedly catering to and aligning with external forces, recklessly provokes with its pursuit of 'independence', becoming the root cause of disruption to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and the source of escalating tensions," Zhang said.

Chen Guiqing, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Taiwan Studies, said the exercise was a direct response to the recent arms deal between the US and Taiwan.

"The military drills not only showcase the PLA's ability to precisely strike Taiwan's 'independence' forces, but also send a clear signal to external, interfering forces that the PLA can prevent outside intervention in the Taiwan Strait. More and more people in Taiwan will realize that seeking 'independence' through force is a dead end, and pursuing 'independence' by relying on external forces leads to an even more hopeless path," Chen said.