The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) simulated rocket attacks on Taiwanese territory, writing Global Times, citing China Central Television. It happened on the second day of drills Chinese troops are holding near the island nation.
As the newspaper notes, on the first day of the drills, which began near Taiwan on April 8, when the island state’s military recorded the approach of 71 Chinese military aircraft to the island, they practiced the control of sea, air and information in a potential conflict.
The following day, April 9, the PLA simulated missile attacks on ground targets. As reported by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, in the late afternoon, 70 aircraft and 11 Chinese military ships were sighted near the island.
PLA Eastern Theater Command
In animated video posted by the Chinese military on WeChat, the PRC is seen using missile launchers deployed on land and at sea to strike targets in Taiwan from multiple directions.
Zhao Xiaozhchuo, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, noted that “key targets” include military installations on the island: in particular, these can be key troop positions, airfields, as well as important nodes of the military system.
China does not recognize Taiwan’s independence and considers it part of its territory. Chinese President Xi Jinping has also not ruled out returning the island to control by force. On April 8, Beijing announced a three-day military exercise near Taiwan in response to a trip by the island nation’s president Tsai Ing-wen to the United States a few days earlier. US House Committee Chairman Michael McCall, commenting on the exercise, said the US Congress would likely support sending US troops to Taiwan “if China invades”. Earlier, in late January, US Air Force General Michael Minihan circulated a memo to his subordinates in which he predicted that by 2025 a war could break out between the US and China over Taiwan. .
