China Conducts 2nd Day of Exercises Around Taiwan; Naming Suggests More Drills to Come Later This Year

By Keiichiro Azuma / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

17:28 JST, April 2, 2025

BEIJING — The Chinese military on Wednesday conducted a second consecutive day of large-scale military drills around Taiwan, raising concerns about a potential blockade of the Taiwan Strait.

The military’s Eastern Theater Command, which oversees the Taiwan area, said the exercises, codenamed “Strait Thunder – 2025A,” were carried out in the central and southern waters of the Taiwan Strait.

The Eastern Theater Command said the drills focused on tasks such as verification and identification, warning and expulsion, interception, and detention to verify the troops’ ability to control and blockade the area. This indicates a possible simulation of a Taiwan Strait blockade.

On Tuesday, it conducted joint military drills involving the ground, naval, air and rocket forces in the northern, southern and eastern sea areas of Taiwan.

The activities of the fleet, led by the aircraft carrier Shandong, were also confirmed in the Western Pacific Ocean, southeast of Taiwan.

Details of the military branches involved and the scope of the two-day drills, which effectively encircled Taiwan, remained undisclosed as of Wednesday morning.

China, which views Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s administration as a pro-independence force, has been ratcheting up military pressure. The naming of the exercises in the Taiwan Strait indicates similar drills will likely take place by the end of the year.

The Eastern Theater Command also announced Wednesday that it conducted long-range live-fire exercises in the East China Sea as part of the ongoing military exercises.