China’s military conducts major exercises near Taiwan, US condemns ‘intimidation’

China’s military said it practised hitting key ports and energy sites during “live-fire” drills Wednesday as part of exercises aimed at Taiwan, the democratic island it claims as its own.

The surprise manoeuvres were criticised by Washington as “intimidation tactics” and come after Taiwan President Lai Ching-te called China a “foreign hostile force”.

Named “Strait Thunder-2025A”, the drills are located in the middle and southern parts of the strait, the military said, which is a vital artery for global shipping.

The military said it held “long-range live-fire drills” and practised hitting “simulated targets of key ports and energy facilities” during the exercises.

Wednesday’s exercises aim to “test the troops’ capabilities” in areas such as “blockade and control, and precision strikes on key targets”, said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman of the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command.

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Taipei has condemned China’s drills.

The island of 23 million people is a potential flashpoint between China and the United States, which is Taiwan’s most important security partner.

The US State Department said Beijing’s “aggressive” military activities and rhetoric towards Taiwan “only serve to exacerbate tensions and put the region’s security and the world’s prosperity at risk”.

Chinese leaders vigorously oppose Washington’s support for Taiwan and detest Lai, who they call a “separatist”.

Drills in the strait come a day after China sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for exercises Beijing said were aimed at practising for “precision strikes” and a blockade of the island.

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That prompted Taipei to dispatch its own air and maritime forces as part of a “Rapid Response Exercise”.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said Tuesday China had deployed 21 warships around the island, including the Shandong aircraft carrier group, along with 71 aircraft and four coast guard vessels.

That was the highest number of warships detected during a single day in nearly a year, and the most aircraft since October 2024.

China’s Eastern Theater Command kept up its propaganda on Wednesday, posting a “Paralysing Strikes” poster on its Weibo account, showing Chinese forces surrounding Taiwan and firing missiles at the island.

Meng Xiangqing, a professor at the PLA National Defence University, warned Taiwan was vulnerable to supply disruptions due to its lack of energy and other resources.

“In the end, it will be the regular people of the island who suffer,” Meng said in a video carried by state broadcaster CCTV.

‘Robust’ deterrence

Beijing has increased the deployment of fighter jets and naval vessels around Taiwan in recent years to press its claim of sovereignty, which Taipei rejects.

Tensions have escalated since Lai took office in May 2024 and adopted tougher rhetoric than his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen in defending the island’s sovereignty.

While Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign country, only 11 mostly Pacific and Caribbean countries and the Vatican recognise its claim to statehood.

Last month, Lai called China a “foreign hostile force” and proposed 17 measures to combat growing Chinese espionage and infiltration.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed “robust, ready and credible deterrence” in the strait during a visit to the region last week.

Taipei analyst Wen-Ti Sung said China was using “stress test after stress test” to gauge the strength of US President Donald Trump’s support for Taiwan and other allies in the region.

“China is creating occasion after occasion for the Trump administration to publicly show how its support… is weaker or more conditional than in years past,” Sung told AFP.

The United States is legally bound to provide arms to Taiwan, but Washington has long maintained “strategic ambiguity” when it comes to whether it would deploy its military to defend the island from a Chinese attack.

There have been concerns over Trump’s willingness to protect Taiwan, especially after he upended US support for Ukraine.

China has carried out several large-scale exercises around the island in recent years, often described as rehearsals for a blockade and seizure of the territory.

Analysts have speculated that China was more likely to attempt a blockade of Taiwan than launch an all-out invasion, which was riskier and would require a huge military deployment.

Communist China claims Taiwan has been part of its territory since “ancient times”, but it has never governed the island.

The island was partly or totally ruled at various times by the Dutch, Spanish, China’s Qing dynasty and Japan, and has been inhabited by indigenous tribes for thousands of years.