China's "Taiwan encirclement drill," launched in protest of the largest-ever U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, entered its second day. The Chinese military said it inspected its joint naval and air force blockade capabilities and is ramping up the intensity of the drills.
The Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army said in a notice at 8 a.m. on the 30th (local time) that destroyers, frigates, and bombers conducted verification and identification, warnings and expulsions, simulated strikes, maritime assaults, and air defense and anti-submarine drills in waters off the northern and southern ends of Taiwan island. The Eastern Theater Command said it verified integrated blockade capabilities through naval-air coordination.
The Eastern Theater Command a day earlier mobilized army, navy, air force, and rocket force units and began drills in a formation that encircles Taiwan on all sides. It said key objectives are combat-readiness patrols by the navy and air force, seizing comprehensive command and control, blockading major ports and areas, and multidimensional outer-area interdiction. It also announced plans to conduct live-fire exercises in waters around Taiwan from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 30th.
Taiwan said Chinese naval and air activities are unfolding on a large scale. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said as of 3 p.m. the previous day, 14 Chinese warships, 14 China Coast Guard vessels, and four amphibious assault ship formations were observed in the eastern waters and the western Pacific. It identified 89 Chinese military aircraft and drones, and said 67 of them entered Taiwan's response zone.
Civil aviation was also affected. Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration under the Ministry of Transportation said that in line with the Chinese military's live-fire drill notice, it would designate seven temporary danger zones around the Taiwan Strait from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 30th and bar aircraft from entering. It added that some international flights would be delayed or canceled, affecting 941 flights and 100,000 passengers.
The Chinese military's latest drills come eight months after the "Strait Leiting (thunder)-2025A" exercises in early April. The direct trigger was the U.S. approval on the 18th of this month of a record $11.1054 billion (about 16 trillion won) in arms sales to Taiwan.
The U.S. arms sales list to Taiwan includes offensive weapons such as the HIMARS multiple rocket system, M107A7 self-propelled howitzers, and loitering munitions, as well as tactical mission network software. China protested on the day of approval, saying, "If the United States helps independence by force, it will be burned by the fire it set itself," and on the 26th announced sanctions on 20 major U.S. defense contractors and 10 executives.
China's Ministry of National Defense, responding to reports that the drills target U.S.-Taiwan arms transactions, said in a statement the previous day that "external forces have repeatedly crossed the line on the Taiwan question, seriously undermining China's sovereignty and security," and that "the drills are a stern warning against 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces and external interference."
The Chinese military has repeatedly conducted "Taiwan encirclement drills," citing remarks by Taiwan's president or exchanges between Taiwan and the United States and other external parties. Since they began in response to then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in Aug. 2022, they have been conducted seven times through today. There were two rounds each in 2023 and 2024, and in early April this year, the "Strait Leiting-2025A" drills were held right after Taiwan President Lai Ching-te labeled China an "antagonistic force."