Signaling Displeasure With Washington, China Conducts Military Exercises Around Taiwan

China’s psychological warfare on Taiwan is intensifying. Following its largest military exercises around Taiwan in three decades last December, Beijing has launched a new series of military drills. On April 1, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) practiced blockading the island, simulating strikes on shore-based targets and conducting live-fire exercises into the East China Sea.

The exercises, which began shortly after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Philippines and Japan to discuss China’s growing territorial aggression, further erode regional security and highlight the growing sophistication of Beijing’s activities in the Taiwan Strait.

PLA Drills Feature Joint Force Maneuvers Surrounding Taiwan

The exercises, given the operational name “Strait Thunder-2025A,” involved elements of the PLA’s air, naval, and missile branches operating in the air and waters around Taiwan. In a statement on April 2, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense announced that Taiwanese forces were monitoring 76 PLA aircraft and 13 PLA naval vessels operating in the waters off the island, including the Shandong carrier strike group.

Chinese state media outlet Xinhua reported that the maneuvers featured conventional and long-range missile batteries, with the Eastern Theatre Command releasing footage of live-fire exercises in the East China Sea. The drills also heavily featured elements of the Chinese Coast Guard, with the state-aligned Global Times reporting that the guard had conducted a “law enforcement patrol” around the island.

In a statement published by the Times announcing the exercises, the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command claimed the drills were intended to showcase the force’s capacity to carry out “integrated operations, seizure of operational control and multi-directional precision strikes.” A spokesperson for China’s State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said the drills were “resolute punishment” for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s “provocations,” likely referring to Taipei’s recent moves to combat Chinese espionage and subversion.

Washington Signals Commitment to Strengthening Regional Deterrence  

The exercises come as Washington has rapidly moved to strengthen deterrence across East Asia, particularly in the Philippines and Japan. Having previously announced plans to deploy a second Typhon missile launch system to the Indo-Pacific, Hegseth reaffirmed America’s commitment to the Philippines during his first tour of the region in late March. In meetings with Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro, Hegseth unveiled plans to expand the scope of upcoming joint U.S.-Philippines military exercises and increase security assistance to Manila.

During his visit to Tokyo, Hegseth also promised to accelerate plans to establish a joint U.S.-Japanese operational command within the country, in line with Tokyo’s longstanding request to strengthen Washington’s commitment to the region. In a joint press conference with Hegseth, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani also announced plans to bolster the country’s military presence along its southwestern islands, which would position Japanese forces closer to both Taiwan and contested regions of the East China Sea.

U.S. Must Expand Joint Training and Political Support

In response to the drills, which Beijing will likely repeat within the next several months, the United States must continue its transits of the Taiwan Strait to demonstrate the limits of China’s control over the waterway while working to strengthen its relationships with its regional allies and partners. Washington should issue a joint statement with Manila and Tokyo condemning the exercises and expand its ongoing joint military exercises with the Philippines by test-firing the Typhon system currently based in Luzon.

Jack Burnham is a research analyst in the China Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Jack and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Jack on X @JackBurnham802. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.