China conducted a second day of military drills near Taiwan on Wednesday, focusing its activities on the Taiwan Strait, a key channel for global trade that lies between the democratically-ruled island and China. The “Strait Thunder-2025A” drills took place in the middle and southern regions of this waterway, according to a spokesperson from the People’s Liberation Army. Taiwan’s military, on alert, stated that the drills were monitored but did not detect anything unusual within the island’s 23 million inhabitants.
The exercises, as clarified by Eastern Theater Command spokesperson Shi Yi, aimed to enhance troops’ capabilities in several areas, including identification and verification, warning and expelling potential threats, as well as intercepting and detaining. Shi stated these maneuvers were also testing the ability to regulate and control important regions, execute joint blockades, and carry out precision strikes on strategic targets. These activities wrapped up successfully, Shi conveyed on the Chinese Defense Ministry’s Weibo account, though forces remain vigilant against any separatist tendencies toward “Taiwan independence.”
During the drills, Taiwan noted the presence of 76 military planes and 19 vessels near the island, with 37 aircraft crossing the central line of the Taiwan Strait—a 160-kilometer (around 110 miles) watery boundary that China does not formally recognize. Additionally, China’s aircraft carrier group, the Shandong, was reported to have entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), a monitored area where such movements are closely tracked.
Shi mentioned that the Shandong engaged in exercises alongside both naval and air units east of Taiwan, designed to secure air superiority and assess operational integration “inside and outside the island chain,” which spans regions like the Philippines, Taiwan, Okinawa, and southern Japan. Although such exercises have been ongoing, their intensity and scale have increased recently, prompting warnings from Taiwanese officials about possible covert attacks disguised as drills.
Besides military formations, Chinese coast guard vessels operate near Taiwanese-held islets just off the East China coast, closely followed by Taiwanese counterparts, stated Hsieh Ching-Chin, Deputy Director-General of Taiwan’s coast guard. “I think China is using these drills to intimidate and threaten, altering peace and stability unilaterally,” Hsieh said. “It’s a violation of international law and endangers vessels in these waters.”
Despite being international waters, the Taiwan Strait is closely monitored by China, which strongly opposes U.S. and other foreign naval presences there. A conflict in this area could potentially draw the U.S. into involvement, given its regional alliances and commitments to Taiwan’s defense, including the provision of advanced weaponry.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce expressed concern over China’s escalated military maneuvers and hostile rhetoric towards Taiwan, criticizing their impact on regional security and global prosperity. “The U.S. remains committed to supporting our allies and partners, including Taiwan,” Bruce reaffirmed.
Taiwanese authorities, led by Defense Minister Wellington Koo, have created a central response group to monitor ongoing activities. Concurrently, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office indicated that the drills targeted President Lai Ching-te’s pro-independence stance, despite polling consistently showing Taiwan’s populace favoring their existing independent status.
Despite being separate for over 76 years since a civil war split them, tensions have surged since 2016 when Beijing ceased nearly all communication with Taipei, straining the delicate balance existing across the Taiwan Strait.