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PLA’s latest air and sea drills near Taiwan could signal surprise attack strategy, analysts say
- Taipei tracks at least 143 warplanes and 56 warships entering air defence zone in four days as part of Beijing’s ‘island encirclement patrol’
- Military expert says intensifying pressure from mainland China could be form of ‘cognitive warfare’ to make Taiwanese people drop their guard
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The People’s Liberation Army has mobilised aircraft from different theatre commands to take part in an “island encirclement patrol” near Taiwan, which experts said could signal a new strategy to prepare for regional military conflicts.
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The aircraft drills coincided with joint sea and air training conducted by the PLA’s Shandong aircraft carrier in the western Pacific Ocean since early this week. According to earlier reports it involved a total of 42 naval ships from the Eastern and Southern Theatre Commands.
A post on the Eastern Theatre Command’s WeChat account said its pilots and ground crews were taking part in long-distance, cross-theatre exercises to practice landing and taking off from unfamiliar airports.
Without saying when the drills took place, the post said the pilots had spent more than 10 hours conducting non-stop flights.
Pictures on the social media platform showed fighter jets such as the J-10, J-16 and Su-30 flying at night and during the day, while drills covered operations such as repairs, refuelling, weapon replacement and emergency response.
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