In retaliation for the visit of President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States on April 5, Beijing organized massive «war games» simulating the imposition of a total blockade on the island of Taiwan.
The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) organized the «Joint Sword» exercise, in which more than 70 aircraft, 11 ships and long-range missile and rocket companies of the Army, Air Force and Navy took part to simulate the launching of multiple simultaneous attacks on the island of Taiwan.
The exercises, which will run until April 10, are intended to mock an attack on key targets on the island and to give «stern warning to the provocative activities of Taiwan’s secessionist/independence forces and their collusion with outside forces, and a necessary measure to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman said.
Massive deployment of military assets
As reported by the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense, of the more than 70 aircraft that crossed the Strait’s mid-line and penetrated its identification zone (ADIZ), the following models could be identified:
- J-11 air superiority fighters
- J-16 and Su-30 heavy fighters
- J-10C light fighters
- TB-001 long-range heavy armed drone
- Y-9EW intelligence/electronic attack aircraft
- Y-8 ASW maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft
- H-6K strategic missile carrier bomber
- YU-20 in-flight refueling aircraft
- KJ-500 airborne early warning and airborne control aircraft
- J-15 naval fighters (updated)
- CH-4 armed drones (updated)
45 of the detected aircraft(SU-30*8, J-11*4, J-10*16, J-16*10, TB-001 UCAV, Y-9EW, Y-8 ASW, H-6K*2, Y-20, KJ-500) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated.
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) April 9, 2023
70 PLA aircraft and 11 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities. pic.twitter.com/c2GGUMGrpW
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) April 10, 2023
The warships identified around the island were Type 052C destroyers, Type 054A frigates and Type 22 missile launchers.
PHL-191 long-range rocket systems were also deployed, as well as DF-11, DF-15 and DF-16 conventional ballistic missile systems.
According to the Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman, the fighter aircraft deployed for the operation were armed with «live» ammunition, and live-fire exercises are likely to be conducted in the vicinity of Taiwan on the last day.
Chinese maritime, land and air forces were coordinated with cyber warfare operations, satellite and electronic reconnaissance and electronic warfare support actions.
For their part, Taiwan’s Armed Forces are on high alert. The Navy sent its own warships to follow Chinese vessels. Air defense systems are fully operational and tracking enemy air operations, while the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) deploys its fighters on combat air patrols (CAP) to identify the Chinese aircraft.
70 PLA aircraft and 11 vessels were detected by 16:00(UTC+8) April 9th. 35 of the detected aircraft had crossed northern, central, and southern median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered our southwest ADIZ. pic.twitter.com/PitgcyfjPI
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) April 9, 2023
Although the defense of Taiwan’s air and sea space is put to the test almost daily by Beijing’s forces (and it is not the first time that China has responded in this fashion to a rapprochement between the island’s politicians and the United States), this time it is a massive deployment, a huge show of force aimed at intimidating the leadership in Taipei and dissuading Washington from an eventual armed intervention in defense of the island.
