Military exercises to blockade Taiwan involving aircraft carrier Shandong

The Chinese military announced on Wednesday that the aircraft carrier strike group Shandong is participating in drills conducted in the Taiwan Strait waters. According to Beijing, the exercises aim to test the capabilities to establish a blockade of the island. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced continued “punishment” for Taiwan.

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02 april 2025   |   13:23   |   Source: Gazeta Morska   |   Prepared by: Krzysztof Pawliszak / Pekin / PAP   |   Print

Lotniskowiec Shandong / fot. Wikicommons

The eastern theater command of the people’s liberation army (PLA) stated that the aircraft carrier Shandong took part in exercises involving the “coordination of ships and aircraft, seizure of airspace control, and attacks on land and sea targets” to the east of Taiwan.

According to the command’s spokesperson, colonel Shi Yi, the drills aimed to assess the troops’ skills in “multi-dimensional blockade and control” of the island.

The authorities of the people’s republic of China claim that the exercises serve as a warning to Taiwanese “separatists.”

Taiwan’s ministry of defense reported on Tuesday, the first day of Chinese maneuvers, the presence of the Chinese aircraft carrier in the Taiwan Strait waters. According to the ministry, the Shandong was “participating in operations approximately 220 nautical miles (407 km) southeast of Taiwan.”

The Taiwanese CNA news agency recalls that the Shandong aircraft carrier previously took part in exercises in the western Pacific waters southeast of Taiwan in April 2023 during the Joint Sword-2023 drills. Later, during the Joint Sword-2024B exercises in October 2024, the PLA dispatched the aircraft carrier Liaoning, which also operated in the western Pacific waters. However, the Taiwanese ministry of defense did not disclose the distance from the island at that time.

Commenting on the PLA’s exercises on Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun stated that “as long as provocations related to Taiwan’s independence continue, the punishment will not cease.”

Quoting the Chinese saying, “those who play with fire may get burned,” Guo also addressed the remarks of the Philippine armed forces chief general Romeo Brawner, who suggested on Tuesday that in the event of a PRC invasion of Taiwan, action from the Philippines would be “inevitable.”

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