Ying Yu Lin
On April 1, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) announced that the command had organized a joint military exercise around Taiwan, mobilizing land, sea, air, and rocket forces for integrated operations. It is worth noting that the scale of forces involved in this most recent exercise around Taiwan surpassed that of previous joint combat readiness patrols conducted over the past few years, with additional elements from the PLA Rocket Force and China Coast Guard. Although the exercise was not given the name “Joint Sword,” which has been specifically associated with joint operations drills around Taiwan since 2023, it did encompass cross-service training activities in terms of both scale and intensity.
On April 2, Shi Yi, spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command, announced that the PLA Eastern Theater Command had carried out the “Strait Thunder 2025A” exercise in the central and southern areas of the Taiwan Strait.
A comprehensive analysis of the two-day military exercise conducted by the PLA reveals a three-phase operational plan that the PLA is likely to adopt for a campaign against Taiwan. Phase one involves joint combat readiness patrols, such as the one conducted in March, marking the stage for troop assembly. Phase two takes a step forward to operations, as demonstrated in the Joint Sword series of exercises, focusing on strikes against sea and land targets and achieving overall battlefield dominance. Finally, phase three involves maneuvers that simulate expelling, intercepting, and detaining ships bound for or departing Taiwan, as demonstrated in the inaugural Strait Thunder exercise.
This sequence highlights the strategic steps behind the PLA’s exercises, along with the underlying tactical considerations and objectives of its training activities.
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