World News | Chinese People’s Liberation Army adopts strategy to conduct combat readiness patrols around Taiwan

Taipei [Taiwan]On May 15, the Taipei Times reported that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has adopted a strategy of conducting combat readiness patrols around Taiwan to create the perception that the Taiwan Strait is part of China’s territorial waters.

China launched the three-day drill last month after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the U.S., Ma Zhenkun, a researcher at the National Defense University, wrote in an article published by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) in the latest briefing.

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He said the exercises, called “United Swords,” included 232 sorties, 134 of which flew over the center line of the Taiwan Strait, but did not use restricted areas or live-fire exercises, the Taipei Times reported.

The intended effect of this, Ma said, is to compress the depth of Taiwan’s air and sea defenses, allowing the PLA to project power into the western Pacific and potentially launch invasions during so-called patrols.

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The strategic significance of combat readiness patrols poses a greater threat to Taiwan’s security than high-profile live-fire drills in the past, because of the potential for the PLA to use them as smokescreens for attacks, he said.

He said the PLA may forego launching missiles during the exercise to avoid drawing unwanted attention from the international community, which is counterproductive, he said, according to the Taipei Times.

Participating Chinese troops rehearsed the maneuvers that would be used to attack Taiwan, he said, adding that the People’s Liberation Army had demonstrated its ability to deter U.S. forces from aiding the country.

While China’s aircraft carriers are inferior to those of the United States, the PLA can deploy more modern warships, submarines and ground- and air-launched anti-ship missiles because it is closer to the theater of operations, he said. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)