Taiwan says 76 Chinese warplanes detected as China launches surprise drills codenamed ‘Strait Thunder’ | World News
China’s military held long-range live-fire drills in the East China Sea around Taiwan on Tuesday in a major escalation of military activities and code named the drill as “Strait Thunder-2025A” as China said that they were focused on sharpening their ability to block Taiwan and make precision strikes, Reuters reported.
The military exercises China come in the backdrop of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Asia visit, wherein the latter kept criticizing Beijing and the rise in Chinese adminration’s rhetoric toward Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, as they called him “parasite” on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s defence minry said on Wednesday that it detected 76 Chinese military aircraft and 15 Chinese military ships operating around the territory of Taiwan in the past 24 hours.
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China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has said that Taiwan’s President Lai has been a long time “separat”. Lai, who won the election last year, is a proponent of Taiwanese sovereignty and rejects Beijing’s claims on the island’s territory, stating “only Taiwan’s people can decide their future”.
Senior Taiwan defence minry intelligence officer Hsieh Jih-sheng speaks during a press conference at the minry, after China announced military drills encircling Taiwan, in Taipei, Taiwan. REUTERS/Walid Berrazeg
China’s Eastern Theatre Command, without providing exact location, said on Wednesday that under the Strait Thunder-2025A, its military ground forces conducted long-range live-fire drills into the waters of the East China Sea.
“The drills involve precision strikes on simulated targets of key ports and energy facilities, and have achieved desired effects,” the Eastern Theatre Command as reported Reuters.
According to a senior security officer of Taiwan, about 10 Chinese warships have been hovering in Taiwan’s “response zone” on Wednesday morning, and that China’s coast guard was preparing for “harassment” drills, Reuters reported.Story continues below this ad
“The exercises focus on subjects of identification and verification, warning and expulsion, and interception and detention so as to test the troops’ capabilities of area regulation and control, joint blockade and control, and precision strikes on key targets,” the Chinese military command said.
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