PLA military drills in Taiwan Strait enter 2nd day

Taipei, April 2 (CNA) The Chinese military's joint exercises near Taiwan entered their second day Wednesday as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command said it was conducting a "Strait Thunder-2025A" drill in parts of the Taiwan Strait.

The drill is focusing on "identification and verification, warning and expulsion, and interception and detention to test the troops' capabilities of area regulation and control, joint blockade and control, and precision strikes on key targets," Chinese-state run Xinhua News Agency cited Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the theater command, as saying.

The same theater command announced on Tuesday morning the beginning of a round of joint exercises around Taiwan, featuring the army, navy, air and rocket forces to "close in" on Taiwan in "multiple directions."

The exercises were to serve as "a stern warning" to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, according to China's Taiwan Affairs Office.

Taiwan's military said it responded by establishing an ad hoc emergency operations center and deploying military aircraft, vessels and coastal missile systems following the PLA's announcement of drills early Tuesday.

As of Wednesday morning, Taiwan's military was conducting patrols and monitoring Chinese troops, and it was prepared to adjust its combat readiness level based on the level of the PLA threat accordingly, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

Beijing has held numerous military drills around Taiwan in recent years, but they have intensified since President Lai Ching-te came to power in May 2024 and used language that has more consistently implied that Taiwan and China are separate entities.

The People's Republic of China sees Taiwan as part of its territory and has reiterated its determination to bring Taiwan into the fold, using force if necessary.

The two most recent PLA military exercises that used code names were both Joint Sword 2024 drills held in 2024 after Lai took office.

The Joint Sword-2024A drills were held from May 23 to May 24, 2024, while second round Joint Sword-2024B was conducted from October 14 to 15, 2024.