China has made no bones about its ambition to seize Taiwan, possibly by blockading the self-governing island and cutting off supplies. Recently, the Chinese military conducted drills to thwart the US military from helping Taiwan.
According to an analysis by the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, the Chinese drill in December 2024 was intended to practice how to stop the US forces from approaching the sea around the island.
In the war games, China deployed 18 destroyers and frigates to the east of the “first island chain,” stretching from Japan’s Nansei Islands to the Philippines, to deny access to American warships.
The drill was conducted between December 6-12. In order to prevent US forces from moving past the first island chain, which is located to the west of the second chain, and to the west of the “second island chain,” which extends from Guam to Japan’s Izu Islands, China employed anti-access/area denial (A2AD) strategy.
It was China’s largest military exercise in nearly three decades. In addition to demonstrating its capacity to blockade Taiwan, China projected power throughout the First Island Chain, which runs from Japan to Indonesia and encompasses the South and East China Seas.
In a notable development, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern, Southern, and Northern Theater Commands coordinated their efforts for the first time, exerting pressure on Taiwan and its allies through extensive combined arms exercises across a broad region.
In addition to the more than 134 PLA warplanes that flew during the three-day exercises near the islands, China also deployed over 60 PLA Navy warships and 30 China Coast Guard vessels in regions spanning from the South China Sea to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands.
The Chinese soldiers rehearsed attacking foreign ships, blocking maritime channels, and intercepting commerce vessels without engaging in live-fire training. The PLA Navy also erected two barriers southeast of Taiwan to limit access to the First Island Chain.
Taiwan’s geography makes it vulnerable to a blockade. Its population, industry, and ports are concentrated on its western flank, closest to China. China might enforce a blockade by deploying ships and submarines to prevent ships from entering or leaving Taiwan’s ports. It could also control the skies with missiles and warplanes.
