China has brandished a wide array of military equipment and weapons during three-day drills launched on Saturday around Taiwan intended to intimidate the nation.
The show of force came after a meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week.
WARSHIPS
Photo: Ministry of Defense via AP
A rundown of Beijing’s arsenal included confirmation by Chinese military yesterday that it had dispatched the Shandong aircraft carrier as part of its “Joint Sword” operations.
The Shandong is one of two Chinese aircraft carriers, and the only one to be completely built domestically. It was commissioned into the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in December 2019.
According to Chinese military statements yesterday, this is the first time that the Shandong has participated in drills involving the encirclement of Taiwan.
China also sent destroyers and frigates in Taiwan’s direction over the weekend. These included a Type 052C destroyer and Type 054A frigate.
The 054A is designed for anti-air combat and equipped with HQ-16 medium-range surface-air missiles capable of striking aerial targets 50km away, the defense industry publication Naval Technology said.
Moreover, hours before Tsai’s meeting with McCarthy in Los Angeles, China sent its Shandong aircraft carrier through Taiwan’s southeastern waters on its way to the western Pacific.
AIRCRAFT
China had also deployed dozens of planes in the airspace around Taiwan over the three days, including J-16 and J-10C fighter jets.
The J-16s, built by Shenyang Aircraft Corp, are capable of carrying close and long-range missiles, China’s Global Times said.
Previously, J-16s have been used for incursion flights into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Experts have said it is among China’s preferred jets for testing Taiwan’s air defenses. The drills around Taiwan had also involved KJ-500 early warning and surveillance aircraft, which provide 360-degree radar coverage, defense intelligence company Janes said.
China’s state media have also reported the deployment of Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, which have previously been used in patrols over the East China Sea.
MISSILES
PLA land forces had also been roped into what China terms the “Joint Sword” drills, using YJ-12B land-based anti-ship missiles in simulated strikes against Taiwan.
Little information about the YJ-12B is publicly available. It is a land-based version of the YJ-12 missile, which has a range of 460km and can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads, the US-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance said.
The DF-11 and DF-15 short-range conventional ballistic missiles had also featured in this week’s drills.
Both are decades-old models, with the newer DF-15 capable of “striking Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula and northern India from mainland China,” the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said.
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