China Holds Air and Sea Blockade Exercises Around Taiwan, Deploys Aircraft Carriers and Nuclear Capable Bombers

Chinese warplanes aboard the Shandong aircraft carrier. (Source: PLA Navy's WeChat official account via Chinamil)

JAKARTA - China's military conducted an air and sea blockade exercise around Taiwan on Monday, the last day of its scheduled drills, with a Chinese aircraft carrier joining a combat patrol, as Taipei reported a surge in fighter planes near the island.

China announced the three-day drills on Saturday, after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taipei during a trip to Central America and made a brief stop in the United States, meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

Chinese state television reported that Beijing deployed several types of aircraft, including nuclear-capable H-6 bombers armed with live missiles, as well as warships conducting drills to "establish a blockade situation encircling multi-directional islands".

"In the Taiwan Strait, northwest and southwest of Taiwan and waters east of Taiwan (Chinese troops) took the initiative to attack, fully exploited their performance advantage, maneuvered flexibly to seize an advantageous position, and advanced at high speed to deter the opponent,” said the report, cited from Reuters, April 10.

Meanwhile, the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command said the aircraft carrier Shandong also participated in combat patrols, showing warplanes taking off from its decks.

Taiwan itself has been tracking Shandong since last week in the Pacific Ocean.

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense published a map on Monday of Chinese air force activity over the previous 24 hours, showing four carrier-based Chinese J-15 fighters operating over the Pacific Ocean east of Taiwan.

Illustration of a Chinese warship. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tiarra Fulgham)

The ministry said as of mid-morning Monday, it had sighted 59 military aircraft and 11 ships in the vicinity of Taiwan, including the Shandong aircraft carrier group in the Western Pacific.

Previously, Shandong conducted air operations in waters close to Japan's Okinawa archipelago on Sunday, Japan's Ministry of Defense said Monday.

Fighter jets and helicopters took off and landed on the carrier 120 times between Friday and Sunday, with the carrier, three other warships, and a support ship within 230 kilometers (143 miles) of Miyako island, said the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

Japan has long been concerned about China's military activity in the area, given how close Japan's southern islands are to Taiwan.

"The importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is not only important for Japan's security, but also for the stability of the international community as a whole," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.

Illustration of Chinese fighter jet formation. (Wikimedia Commons/維基小霸王)

Yesterday, the Chinese military conducted a precision strike simulation against Taiwan during its second day of exercises around the island on Sunday.

Eastern Theater Command on Monday released a short video on its WeChat account showing an H-6 bomber flying over northern Taiwan.

"The missiles are in good condition," says an unidentified voice, as the video shows images from the cockpit.

"Turn on fire control radar, lock on target," another voice said, flashing an image of a missile under a plane's wing.

Taiwan's military has repeatedly said it will take China's drills in stride and will not provoke conflict.

The Ministry of Defense separately on Monday released photos of a mobile launcher for the Taiwan-made Hsiung Feng anti-ship missile at an undisclosed location, as well as a missile-armed fast attack ship at sea.

Despite China holding its military force drills for three days, life in Taiwan went on normally with no sign of panic or disturbance, and civil aviation was operating as normal.

"Most normal people are probably not afraid, with the main reason being that everyone thinks that China will not start a war," said retired and former soldier Tang Pao-hsiung, 78.

China views democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under Beijing's control. Taiwan's government vehemently denies China's claims and condemns the drills.