The Chinese military has announced that it will conduct large-scale military exercises to "encircle Taiwan" once again, approximately nine months after the last such drills.
On December 29, the spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese military stated via social media that, starting that day, the Eastern Theater Command would organize Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force units to conduct the "Joint Sword-2025" exercise in the Taiwan Strait, as well as in the northern, southwestern, southeastern, and eastern regions around Taiwan.
The firing training area announced by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese military on the 30th. Screenshot from the Eastern Theater Command's social media.
The spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command said, "The focus of the exercise includes combat readiness patrols by the Navy and Air Force, seizing comprehensive control, blockading key ports and regions, and multidimensional isolation of the periphery." He added, "The purpose is to verify the joint operational combat capabilities of the theater’s units, with ships and aircraft approaching the island of Taiwan from multiple directions and various branches of the military conducting joint assaults."
The Eastern Theater Command also announced that on December 30, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (local time), it will conduct "important military exercises" and live-fire drills in five maritime and air zones surrounding Taiwan.
In the past, the Chinese military has conducted "encirclement of Taiwan" exercises in response to remarks by the Taiwanese president or exchanges with the United States and other countries.
Last year, the military conducted the "Sharp Sword-2024A" exercise in May and the "Sharp Sword-2024B" exercise in October. This year, after the Taiwanese president labeled China as a "hostile force" and began rooting out spies within Taiwan in March, the "Strait Thunder-2025A" exercise was held in early April.
This latest exercise comes about nine months after the "Strait Thunder-2025A" drills.
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