China on Friday began a second day of joint military drills to test its ability to seize and control key areas around democratic Taiwan, exercises Beijing said were intended to “punish” the island’s new president.
The Chinese military continued to carry out its Joint Sword-2024A exercises around Taiwan to test its ability “to jointly take control of (the) battlefield and launch joint strikes, and to seize control of crucial areas,” said Senior Col. Li Xi, a spokesperson for the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command.
Chinese state-run media said later Friday that the military had sent multiple bombers carrying live munitions for drills over waters east of Taiwan that saw them conduct mock strikes on key targets on the island in coordination with a naval flotilla and land-based missile units.