The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has launched joint drills featuring naval and air forces near the island of Taiwan, one day after it conducted a combat readiness drill.
For two consecutive days, concentrated military operations surrounding Taiwan have demonstrated PLA’s capabilities to solve the Taiwan question by force amid Taiwan secessionist plans, experts said.
According to local media:
“Naval and air forces with the PLA Eastern Theater Command on Monday conducted joint drills in the southeastern waters of the island of Taiwan, said Senior Colonel Zhang Chunhui, a PLA Eastern Theater Command spokesperson, in a statement released by the Ministry of National Defense on Monday. Citing Taiwan’s defense authority, Taiwan news website udn.com reported on Monday that PLA aircraft including H-6 bombers and fighter jets crossed the Bashi Channel on Monday morning flying into the western Pacific, and returned on the same course.
The joint drills on Monday came only one day after PLA forces conducted a combat readiness drill on Sunday with warships, bombers, jet fighters, and early warning aircraft. The combat planes cruised through the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait and conducted real combat-oriented training. Unlike Sunday’s operation, PLA fighter jets crossed the “middle line” of the Taiwan Straits on Monday, udn.com said.”
The recent drills on Monday mainly focused on real-combat scenarios including air-to-land assault and fire support, which trained and tested troop capabilities in joint operations, said Zhang
Really should pitch the Typhoon to Taiwan…although maybe Gripen might be better with its ability to operate from austere runways…