Taipei [Taiwan], May 15 : The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has adopted a strategy to conduct preparedness patrols around Taiwan to create a notion that the Taiwan Strait is part of China's territorial waters, Taipei Times reported.
China last month launched a three-day drill following Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the US, National Defense University researcher Ma Chen-kun wrote in an article published in the Mainland Affairs Council's (MAC) latest briefing.
These exercises named "joint sword," included 232 air sorties, 134 of which crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, but did not feature the use of exclusion zones or live-fire manoeuvres, he said, according to Taipei Times.
Ma said the intended effect of this is to compress Taiwan's air-sea defensive depth which allows the PLA to project power into the western Pacific Ocean and potentially launch an invasion during a supposed patrol.
The strategic implications of the preparedness patrols are more of a threat to Taiwan's security than the high-profile live-fire drills of the past, due to the possibility that the PLA could use the exercises as a smokescreen for an attack, he said.
The PLA likely dispensed with firing missiles during the exercises to avoid raising unwanted attention from the international community, which was counterproductive, he said, according to Taipei Times.
The Chinese forces that took part in the drills conducted rehearsals of manoeuvres that would be used in an attack on Taiwan, he said, adding that the PLA demonstrated improved capabilities to prevent US forces from aiding the nation.
Although China's aircraft carriers are inferior to the US, the PLA could deploy more modern warships, submarines, and ground and air-launched anti-ship missiles, as it would be closer to the warzone, he said.
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