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Enoch Wong

The People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) stronger emphasis on nighttime training signals readiness for “surprises”, including in a possible war scenario over Taiwan, military experts say.
Beijing’s most senior uniformed military official, Zhang Youxia, oversaw the latest such drills, which were held earlier this week in Hebei, a province bordering the capital.
Zhang is the first-ranked vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, a body led by President Xi Jinping. He is also a member of the Politburo, Beijing’s top decision-making group.
He inspected live-fire drills during a three-day “combined military operation” that started last Sunday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The operation came less than a week after the latest large-scale PLA drills around Taiwan, a 13-hour exercise dubbed Joint-Sword 2024B that began before sunrise on October 14.
Fu Zhengnan, a researcher at the PLA’s Academy of Military Sciences, told state media that the Joint-Sword drill was “closer to real combat” than previous exercises, citing indicators including the decision to train at night and in the early morning.
Lyle Goldstein, director for Asia Engagement at Washington-based think tank Defence Priorities and head of the China Initiative at Brown University, pointed to the “surprise” element.
“The PLA has operated at an elevated state of readiness for years, conducting high-intensity combat training at night. These include highly complex and dangerous exercises like amphibious warfare,” Goldstein said.
“This may reflect a general conception that advanced and well-trained soldiers can realise advantages by attacking at night. In particular, this may aid in increasing the possibility for ‘surprise’, as well as undermine opponents that lack the proper night-vision equipment or training.”
Malcolm Davis, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, agreed.
“Nighttime operations are an essential requirement for any air force – simply put, you can’t stop military operations at night because the enemy won’t,” Davis said.
“For the PLA, practising 24-hour air operations would be essential if China sought to impose unification on Taiwan. Non-stop air operations provide tactical advantages, including reduced visibility to the enemy and the element of surprise.”


Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. While most countries including the United States, a major backer, do not recognise self-governed Taiwan as an independent state, Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to arming it for defence.
Night drills are nothing new for the PLA. But they have featured more frequently across different theatre commands and forces in recent months, as Beijing steps up pressure on Taiwan and its new independence-leaning leader, William Lai Ching-te.
Recent reports from the PLA Daily, the official paper of the mainland military, confirm that nighttime exercises have been stepped up across different units.
A report on Thursday said the 71st Group Army, a unit of the Eastern Theatre Command responsible for Taiwan, had conducted a night air defence drill along the mainland east coast – simulating low-altitude enemy attacks.
On Wednesday, the paper said the Southern Theatre Command Air Force had held late-night flight training to boost round-the-clock operational endurance.
No dates were given for either exercise.
Last week’s reports included recent photos and video footage of PLA Navy pilots carrying out carrier-based drills in the dark, as well as exercises by the western Xinjiang Military District that focused on live-fire precision, rapid redeployment, and coordination under challenging high-altitude, nighttime conditions.


Song Zhongping, a former PLA instructor, said Zhang’s presence at the nighttime drills “signals Beijing’s serious commitment, attention, and preparation for a real military conflict”.
Hong Kong-based military commentator Leung Kwok-leung recalled that both Gulf wars started by Washington were launched during the night.
Former Taiwanese defence chief Andrew Nien-dzu Yang said the PLA had “demonstrated advantage and control in the region” through intensified nighttime operations, reflecting its “improved coercive power”.
Taiwan, the US, and their allies now believe that “the PLA can execute advanced operational activities anytime, anywhere, and against any coalition”, said Yang, who is now head of Taipei-based think tank the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies.
He said the PLA had shown it could identify and exploit “loopholes” in regional defences, as seen when the US carrier battle group was absent during the Joint-Sword drill.
The Taiwanese military has also lately focused on nighttime training, with the Penghu Defence Command carrying out its first-ever night live-fire exercises on Thursday.
The drills on Penghu, a group of outlying islands 120km (74 miles) from mainland China, demonstrated “24/7 ability to defend the homeland”, Taiwan’s defence ministry said on social media.
“The hypothetical scenario for this exercise was enemy forces taking advantage of poor nighttime visibility to attempt a landing,” Agence France-Presse quoted Lieutenant Commander Chen Jyun-Yan as saying.
Local media said the Penghu islands, located in the narrow Taiwan Strait separating Taiwan from mainland China, were strategically critical to “countering enemy landings”.
The predawn drills featured recently upgraded US-made M60A3 main battle tanks, fitted out with new engines to extend the lifespan of all 460 in the Taiwanese military.

Taiwan’s largest annual military exercise, the Han Kuang drills, took place in July. These had also originally aimed to include night elements to test “24-hour defence capabilities”, but the plan was shelved due to a typhoon.
According to Xinhua, another focus of Zhang’s latest inspection was boosting “joint operations on the basis of the network information system” – which involves a combination of intelligence gathering and disruption.
Goldstein said the PLA had long recognised the value of speeding up the “kill chain” – which requires an advanced system for intelligence sharing, surveillance and rapid decision-making. All these elements were tested in the recent “combined military operation”, he said.
According to Goldstein, the PLA aims to “maximally disrupt Taiwan’s information and command networks in a conflict scenario”, and has taken major electronic warfare lessons from Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.


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China’s military drills

PLA drills in the dark show mainland China ‘ready for surprises’, such as over Taiwan

The People’s Liberation Army has carried out its latest nighttime drills as part of a three-day “combined military operation”. Photo: Weibo/ 央视军事报道

Zhang Youxia, first-ranked vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, is Beijing’s most senior uniformed military official. Photo: Weibo/ 央视军事报道

Live rounds and flares seen during a nighttime exercise by the Taiwanese military on Penghu islands on Thursday. Photo: Handout via Reuters

What PLA Navy and China Coast Guard drills near Taiwan reveal about Beijing’s plans

A fighter jet takes off from the PLA aircraft carrier Liaoning sailing east of Taiwan, during the “Joint Sword-2024B” military drills on Monday. Photo: AFP /PLA Eastern Theatre Command 

How to take Taiwan: mainland China show imagines what a PLA attack may look like

The latest episode of a documentary series broadcast in mainland China featured footage of PLA exercises and a full account of how a Taiwan landing would be achieved. Photo: CCTV

PLA jet fighters were among the military hardware featured in a CCTV documentary broadcast in mainland China about what an operation to take control of Taiwan would involve. Photo: CCTV

In the filmed exercise shown on CCTV in mainland China on Monday, PLA helicopters and landing troops meet resistance from the enemy who attempt to hold them off with portable missiles, similar to those purchased by Taiwan from the US. Photo: CCTV

A scene from the latest episode of the CCTV documentary series Quenching, which included footage of PLA naval exercises. Photo: CCTV

China plans live-fire drills in Taiwan Strait after US and Canadian warships transit

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins during operations with the Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver during routine operations in the Taiwan Strait on Sunday. Photo: US Navy via AP

Chinese President Xi visits Taiwan-facing island after PLA drills simulate blockade

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the crowd during his visit to Dongshan county, Fujian province, on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: Xinhua

President Xi Jinping visits a memorial hall dedicated to a top Dongshan official who played a significant role in the cross-strait battle of 1953. Photo: Xinhua

PLA keeps up air and sea pressure near Taiwan in wake of William Lai’s Double Tenth speech

In his first National Day speech since assuming office in May, Taiwan’s leader William Lai said the People’s Republic of China “has no right to represent Taiwan”. Photo: EPA-EFE

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China

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Beijing’s top uniformed military official oversees latest exercises as PLA intensifies nighttime training, with Taiwan following suit


Beijing’s top uniformed military official oversees latest exercises as PLA intensifies nighttime training, with Taiwan following suit.


Taiwan