TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) Thursday (July 4) announced it is monitoring People's Liberation Army (PLA) drills in the East China Sea.
On Tuesday (July 2), the Zhejiang Maritime Safety Administration issued a navigation warning for specified coordinates at the Qiantang River estuary. It said from 4 a.m. on Wednesday (July 3) to 6 p.m. on Friday (July 5), live-fire “military exercises” would be carried out and entry is prohibited during this period.
Vietnamese journalist Duan Dong on X described the exercises as “large-scale." He pointed out that the southernmost point of the prohibited zone is less than 100 nautical miles (185 km) from northwest Taiwan.
The MND said it was monitoring the exercises and sea trials of new weapons. The ministry noted China issued airspace restrictions on Thursday to facilitate the Eastern Theater Command's annual live-fire drills.
Lu Li-shih (呂禮詩), a former captain of the Taiwan Navy, on Monday (July 1) wrote on his Facebook page that a similar announcement issued by the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration points to a third set of sea trials for the Fujian aircraft carrier. Lu said the focus of these exercises will be improving on the shortcomings of the last sea trial and completing dual ship operations with the Hulunhu (965) Type 901 fast combat support ship.
As for whether the carrier-based aircraft will practice landing, Lu said, similar to the Shandong aircraft carrier in the past, it will first perform "touch and go" maneuvers, with actual landings likely scheduled for the next phase. Touch-and-go maneuvers involve aircraft briefly landing on the carrier deck before taking off again without coming to a full stop.
The MND reported on Thursday that it had detected 30 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels around Taiwan. Of the 30 aircraft, 19 had crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the northern, southwestern, and southeastern portions of the country’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
