Beijing’s massive military drills around Taiwan on Monday revealed significantly improved coordination between its navy and coastguard, according to observers, who say this could be key to mainland China’s blockade strategy for the island.
A record number of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft approached Taiwan in the 13-hour exercise dubbed “Joint Sword-2024B”, with the aircraft carrier Liaoning launching fighter jets towards the island from the east.
An unprecedented 17 coastguard vessels were part of the drills, as reported by Taiwan, compared to only seven deployed in Joint Sword-2024A drills in May, Beijing’s last major exercise staged around the self-governed island. That followed Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te’s inauguration speech which Beijing slammed as provocative.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
Moreover, according to Taiwan’s ministry of defence, the coastguard ships were also operating alongside PLA naval vessels on a roughly 1:1 ratio in each area of operation, north, south and west of Taiwan and in the Taiwan Strait.
According to Fu Qianshao, a military analyst and former PLA officer, the arrangement revealed close coordination between the two forces.
“The coastguard vessels serve as a critical supplementary force to the PLA and could play an important role in blockading ports and certain areas in a potential cross-strait conflict,” Fu said.
“For instance, the coastguard could prevent a foreign commercial ship from forcing its way into Taiwanese ports ... This exercise demonstrates its coordination in joint operations with the military.”
The China Coast Guard (CCG), which was placed under military leadership in 2018, is one of the largest and best-armed forces of its kind in the world.
It has regularly conducted law enforcement patrols near Taiwan since earlier this year, including the Joint Sword-2024A exercises in May, when it deployed vessels near two Taiwan-controlled islets and also to the east of the island.
The deployment of coastguards showed “a wartime posture”, Hong Kong military commentator Liang Guoliang said.
“The four coastguard task forces [in the exercise] were tasked with guiding and assisting merchant vessels to leave the conflict zone, as their first major task, while their second was to participate in the blockade of Taiwan,” according to Liang.
Former Taiwanese navy captain Lu Lishi also said the navy-coastguard coordination was the “highlight” of Monday’s drills.
The deployment of the 10,000-tonne CCG 2901, the coastguard’s largest ship, to the east of Taiwan was significant, he said, as the vessel can remain at sea for extended periods.
Monday’s drill came just days after another speech by Lai, and Beijing said it was a response to the “provocation”.
Another highlight of the drill was the involvement of the Liaoning aircraft group to Taiwan’s east. Mainland state media footage showed J-15 fighters taking off from the carrier at night, a feat seen as adding to the PLA’s capabilities to stop possible foreign interventions.
Liang said the drills involving the Liaoning were more representative of a real combat scenario, compared with a PLA drill in April last year, when the aircraft carrier Shandong was deployed east of Taiwan.
“A notable difference this time was that the Liaoning was participating more directly, rather than remaining in a state of readiness [as the Shandong did] ... It was also operating closer to the predefined core area of the battlefield, with more frequent carrier-based aircraft take-offs and landings,” Liang said.
The Liaoning operated at nearly its maximum speed to arrive in the exercise area after departing from the southern Sanya naval base days earlier, indicating the highest level of combat readiness and the ability to respond quickly and effectively in battle, he added.
Military commentator Song Zhongping said Monday’s drills also signalled the PLA’s ability to control the strategic Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines by deploying its Liaoning aircraft carrier in the waterway.
There was a “key consideration that the US and other foreign powers may use the military bases in the Philippines to suppress China, especially to hinder China from resolving the Taiwan issue”, according to Song.
He said the latest exercise showed that the PLA could mobilise troops, including the Rocket Force, to implement a blockade near the Bashi Channel.
A record 153 PLA aircraft were detected near Taiwan from 5am on Monday to 6am on Tuesday, the island’s defence ministry said. Over 70 per cent of them entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone, according to the ministry.
The tally was more than double the record for daily PLA aircraft sorties reported near Taiwan since last September, when 66 aircraft were detected on July 10.
A three-day period during the Joint Sword exercise in April 2023 featured between 70 and 91 aircraft daily, while the two-day drill in May after Lai’s inaugural speech involved up to 62 jets daily.
The exercises in April last year were launched after Lai’s predecessor Tsai Ing-wen met then House speaker Kevin McCarthy during a transit stop in the United States, drawing protests from Beijing.
The record numbers this time round showed Beijing was testing the command and control, as well as coordination of different types of aircraft including the J-20 fighter jet, former PLA officer Fu noted.
Song said even though the drill lasted for just a day, its scale “was far from restrained”.
Rather, it was more targeted, as “the shorter the conflict, the stronger is the problem-solving ability demonstrated”, said Song, a former PLA instructor.
Lu from Taiwan said Monday’s drill was “limited”, in line with what he believed was a consensus between the United States and China on security issues in Asia ahead of the US elections next month.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. The US, like most countries, does not recognise self-governed Taiwan as an independent state, but is opposed to any attempt to take it by force and is committed to arming it for defence.
More from South China Morning Post:
- PLA keeps up air and sea pressure near Taiwan in wake of William Lai’s Double Tenth speech
- PLA wraps up day of joint force blockade drills around Taiwan
- Taiwan agrees to buy nearly 1,000 US killer drones as PLA stages drills around island
- Is Taiwan ‘a US sucker’? Weapons price gouging revealed on National Day
For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2024.
