Context:
- Big news but doesn’t mean an invasion or blockade is likely or imminent
- Scheduled for 2 days but “A” implies a “B” may follow
- Big drills like this are not uncommon & have happened before around major political events
- Analysts anticipated a response like this to Taiwan’s presidential inauguration, & the weather is better this time of year
- Too early to understand the size & scope compared to previous operations
- Lots of bad info so be careful who & what you trust
New from Chinese media:
- Designed to surround Taiwan from both the east & the west, the exercises display the PLA's strike capability across all directions without any blind spots, forming a situation where the island is pinned down from both sides
- To the east, joint forces organized to carry out sea & land assault drills
-First time that Chinese Coast Guard vessels have entered the waters around Wuqiu & Dongyin
- Designed to serve as strong deterrence & warning, destroying the notion of so-called restricted waters imposed by Taiwan
- Feature an integrated plan covering the main & outlying islands, & employing the acts of destroying, trapping & blocking in one move
- Combat alert patrols surround the island, with warships & warplanes closing in on multiple locations only steps away from its coastlines, effectively pressuring the island's space for military defense
https://x.com/ianellisjones/status/1793521345026044314
https://x.com/ianellisjones/status/1793530053860405726
New from the PLA: “Today, the air force in the Eastern Theater Command dispatched dozens of fighters to systematically patrol around the island & cruise around the outer islands. After arriving in the mission airspace, all types of fighters rely on joint intelligence support & flexibly take various tactical actions to reach the patrol around Taiwan Island.”
