TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Coinciding with its announcement that it had conducted "strike drills" around Taiwan on Christmas Day, the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Monday (Dec. 26) released a video purportedly showing segments of those exercises.
The Eastern Theater Command announced on Sunday it "joint combat readiness patrols and joint firepower strike drills of all armed forces in the sea and airspace around Taiwan." It claimed that the drills were conducted as a "resolute response to the current U.S.-Taiwan escalation and provocation."
Among the photos it included from the mission was an image purportedly taken from a Chinese military aircraft allegedly showing Taiwan's Central Mountain Range. The photos were also posted on Weibo that evening and the command claimed that its forces would "take all necessary measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said that as of 6 a.m. on Monday (Dec. 26), 71 PLA military aircraft and seven naval vessels were tracked around Taiwan, a record number for a 24-hour period. The ministry stated China once again "highlighted its mentality of using force to resolve differences and undermine regional peace and stability."
At 10 a.m. on Monday, the Eastern Theater Command uploaded a video to Weibo which it claimed showed footage of the exercises conducted around "Taiwan Island" on Christmas Day. The video starts with a fighter jet taking off and text stating that the drills were conducted on Dec. 25 "in the sea and airspace around Taiwan Island."
Next shown is a Chinese bomber, likely a Xian H-6. The third scene shows views from a Chinese warship and a sailor scanning the horizon with binoculars.
Onboard the vessel, a sailor is shown speaking into a handset as part of a radio message in which he states the following:
"Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. Our actions are to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. We will take all necessary countermeasures."
A bomber and then a fighter jet can then be seen flying above the clouds. The video cuts to what appears to be two different shots of Taiwan's Central Mountain Range apparently taken from Chinese military aircraft.
The MND on Monday said it monitored the situation and responded by dispatching combat patrol aircraft and naval vessels and activating air defense missile systems. In a Sunday evening press release, the MND emphasized that the "military intimidation of the PLA is clearly aimed at psychologically intimidating the public," and that it responded by using joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance methods to attain a full picture of developments in the area and dispatched forces to respond in a "timely and appropriate manner."
China releases video showing 'strike drills' including 71 warplanes, 7 warships around Taiwan launched on Christmas Day https://t.co/nwIxjsDmQW pic.twitter.com/WkMtiuvxwm
— Taiwan News (@TaiwanNews886) December 26, 2022