China Conducts Live-Fire Exercises in Taiwan Strait

On Tuesday, China's military continued a series of large-scale live fire exercises around Taiwan, demonstrating its high-volume rocket fire capabilities by launching salvos into the Taiwan Strait.

The exercises were announced after a record-setting U.S. arms sale agreement with Taiwan. At the same time, China also announced sanctions on 20 American defense tech companies, including some of the biggest names in next-generation technology for the U.S. Navy.

The drills - dubbed "Justice Mission 2025" - are intended to send a message to Taiwan: that reunification with the mainland is inevitable, formal Taiwanese independence will not be allowed, and Taiwan's cooperation with foreign powers (the United States) will be punished.

"Beijing at all times stands ready to crush any secession plot aiming to split Taiwan from the motherland. Each escalation in provocation will be met with stronger countermeasures. The PLA is ready to fight at any moment, and is certain to prevail if and when it does fight," Chinese state news outlet Xinhua said in a statement Tuesday.

China has carried out large-scale live fire exercises near Taiwan before, and Western analysts have suggested that it is attempting to normalize large-scale Chinese activity near the island's shores. Tuesday's PLA Army rocket-launch drill sent rounds into the water near Taiwan's 24-nautical-mile line, Taiwan's defense ministry told AP, closer than ever before. About 130 Chinese aircraft were detected around the island's airspace on Monday, along with 22 Chinese warships and government vessels.

The PLA rocket volley drill has meaning for naval operators. Video of the exercise shows a tight delivery pattern for the long-range guided rocket system, demonstrating guidance accuracy that could be used for strikes on ports or coastal defense batteries in Taiwan. In addition, the PLA Army's long-range rocket launch truck can deliver anti-ship cruise missiles with a range of 180 kilometers, enough to cover the Taiwan Strait. In a statement Tuesday, the PLA said that the overall training objective is to "explore how ports and choke-points could be sealed under duress" and to simulate strikes on ground targets.

The U.S. supports Taiwan's defense with arms sales, but maintains strategic ambiguity about whether American assets would be dispatched to counter a cross-strait invasion. By contrast, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told TASS last weekend that Moscow supports China's position, and would provide "mutual support" to Beijing in the event of a conflict over the island's freedom.

"As for the possible escalation in the Taiwan Strait, [Russian] procedure for acting in such situations is set forth [by a treaty with China]," Lavrov said. "One of the basic principles of that document is mutual support in defending national unity and territorial integrity."