China Releases Live-Fire Drill Footage and "Taiwan Pressure" Posters

China Responds to U.S. Arms Sales to Taiwan

Poster released by the Chinese Coast Guard. The poster emphasized a message pressuring Taiwan by combining the phrase "Strangle" with an image of handcuffs. Global Times

The Chinese military, which launched a "Taiwan encirclement exercise" in response to the United States' large-scale arms sales to Taiwan, intensified its pressure on Taiwan on December 30 by releasing live-fire drill footage and various propaganda posters.

On this day, the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army released a 48-second "live-fire drill site video" via its official WeChat account, a social networking service. The video featured scenes of fighter jets and warships striking targets, as well as rocket launches. The command also stated that it had achieved planned results in long-range live-fire exercises targeting the northern waters of Taiwan.

The Chinese Coast Guard also released a poster depicting the blockade of shipping routes around Taiwan. The poster emphasized a message pressuring Taiwan by combining the phrase "Strangle" with an image of handcuffs.

Some posters depicted a Taiwanese shipping company's cargo vessel carrying HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System)-one of the U.S. arms sales items to Taiwan-being intercepted by the Chinese Coast Guard.

The state-run Global Times reported that the footage was filmed on the first day of the exercise, December 29, quoting a spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command as saying, "This exercise is a stern warning to separatist forces seeking 'Taiwan independence' as well as to external interference forces."

Additionally, the Chinese military released drone footage taken during the exercise, including video of Taipei 101, a landmark in Taiwan. The video showed an aircraft, presumed to be a Chinese military drone, leaving a hangar and capturing Taipei 101 from a distance.

In response, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense released its own footage highlighting the country's intelligence and surveillance capabilities, showing F-16 fighter jets and navy vessels monitoring Chinese military aircraft and warships.