Mapped: How China 'punishes' Taiwan with military drills?

Chinese military and coast guard personnel surrounded Taiwan's main island on Monday for a day of large-scale drills that Beijing said were a warning against "separatist acts", in the wake of a recent speech by Taiwan's president.

In Short

• China conducts large-scale military drills around Taiwan.
• PLA approaches Taiwan with aircraft carrier Liaoning.
• Chinese coastguard also patrolled around Taiwan island

Chinese military and coast guard personnel surrounded Taiwan’s main island on Monday for a day of large-scale drills that Beijing said were a warning against “separatist acts”, in the wake of a recent speech by Taiwan’s president.

State media linked the drills to a National Day speech last Thursday by Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, in which he repeated that the People’s Republic of China “has no right to represent Taiwan”, but that he was willing to work with it to maintain peace and stability.

The drills began before dawn without any prior notice. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said all branches of the military approached Taiwan by sea and air, including a strike group led by one of China’s two active aircraft carriers, the Liaoning.

The joint drills focused on sea and air combat readiness, blockading key Taiwanese ports and areas, and assaults on maritime and ground targets, said the eastern theatre command’s spokesperson Li Xi.

The PLA did not announce any live-fire or no-fly zones. Provided maps showed nine declared zones for the exercises, including six large areas near Taiwan’s major ports.

At the same time, the Chinese coastguard, which is separate from the military but serves under the same commanding body, announced “law enforcement patrols” around the main Taiwan island in what it said was “a practical action to control Taiwan Island”.

Ship tracking data analysed by India Today showed at least 16 Chinese coast guard vessels in the Taiwan Strait – a narrow body of water separating the island from mainland China – as well as encircling Taiwan.

Taiwan said it detected 34 naval vessels and 125 aircraft in formation around the island on Monday.

China’s military exercises around Taiwan, a democracy of 2.3 crore people, have become increasingly frequent in recent years and have tended to coincide with events that have angered Beijing.

In August 2022, China launched a week of military drills following a visit to the island by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The latest exercise has been dubbed Joint Sword 2024-B by Beijing and had been widely expected since May, when drills bearing the same name and officially labelled as part A were staged.

Similar drills in May came after the inauguration of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has denounced as a “dangerous separatist.” The latest exercises are code-named Joint Sword-2024B, implying it’s a follow-up to the drills five months ago which had the same name.

A roughly one-minute video shows fighter jets, warships and amphibious assault vessels in the air and at sea, and mobile missile launchers being moved into place. The accompanying text said the command is “prepared for battle at all times and can fight anytime.”

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said it kicked off the Monday exercises “with vessels and aircraft approaching Taiwan Island in proximity from different directions.”

The drills focused on “sea-air combat-readiness patrol, blockade on key ports and areas, assault on maritime and ground targets, as well as joint seizure of comprehensive superiority,” according to a statement from the PLA’s Eastern Command.

How is Liaoning different from other countries’ carriers?

(Source: SketchFab.com)

The Liaoning displaces roughly 66,000 tons (60,000 metric tons) — roughly 39,000 tons more than the Japanese helicopter destroyer Izumo — and is nearly 60 meters longer. The Liaoning also boasts a size advantage over the Soviet-built Indian carrier Vikramaditya, with a deck 20 meters longer and weighing approximately 17,000 tons more.

The Liaoning differs from the aircraft carriers of other countries in both size and capability. Although its overall capability is hindered by its comparatively inefficient power plant and underpowered aircraft-launching system being commissioned in 2012, the Liaoning represents an important step in advancing China’s ability to project naval power.

Liaoning’s challenges aren’t unique to China’s navy. Like India’s INS Vikramaditya, it lacks an aircraft catapult, which limits the takeoff and range of its jets.

The Liaoning’s size falls well below the U.S. Nimitz-class carrier USS Ronald Reagan currently stationed with the U.S. Seventh Fleet in Japan, the latter being over 60 percent heavier and 30 meters longer. The Ronald Reagan weighs 97,000 tons (88,000 metric tons) fully loaded and spans 333 meters long, far outsizng the Liaoning.