If last week the Chinese military deployed 153 fighter jets and nearly thirty warships, including one of its three aircraft carriers, to conduct a large-scale blockade exercise over Taiwan, this Tuesday more military exercises arrived, but this time involving live-fire drills.
The target of the latest maneuvers has been the vicinity of the Matsu Islands, very close to the Chinese southern province of Fujian but controlled by Taiwan.
In Fujian, Chinese President Xi Jinping was present a few days ago, where he also made a symbolic visit to a brigade of the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, which oversees the country's nuclear weapons and possesses large stockpiles of short and medium-range ballistic missiles.
During that visit, the leader of the second world power, who is also the head of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the body overseeing the armed forces, stated that the military must "strengthen preparations" for potential combat. While inspecting the equipment and training of this unit, the president added that the troops must "obey political directives and enhance strategic deterrence and combat capabilities."
Following Xi's words, Beijing is maintaining military pressure on the autonomous island this week, which it considers part of its territory. After the recent live-fire exercises, which lasted for four hours, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that these were routine maneuvers by the Chinese military but were being closely monitored, and they could not rule out that they were part of a "deterrent effect" by China in the strait's waters.
"Taipei should never conduct such military exercises with live-fire, as it poses a threat to peace and stability," also emphasized Taiwanese Prime Minister Cho Jung-tai. "These exercises only create unnecessary tensions," he underscored.
Some Chinese state media outlets have claimed that the latest show of force by the military is a response to the passage of two warships, one American and one Canadian, through the Taiwan Strait over the weekend.
Following last week's large-scale war simulation, the largest since August 2022, Beijing stated that these were a "severe warning against the separatist actions of Taiwan's independence forces."
Those exercises conducted at seven points around the island aimed to practice a rapid total blockade isolating Taiwan from quick assistance from the United States, its main ally.