Taiwan Defense Report Says China Continuously Strengthens Surrounding Sea and Air Control and Blockade Exercises

Taiwan Defense Report Says China Continuously Strengthens Surrounding Sea and Air Control and Blockade Exercises

Taiwan's defense department said on August 31 that China is continuously strengthening its sea and air activities around Taiwan and enhancing its ability to cut off Taiwan's external transportation and command systems through joint blockade and sea and air control exercises. According to a report by Reuters on August 31, Taiwan believes that Beijing currently does not have the capability to easily implement a full-scale amphibious invasion.

This assessment reflects a structural change in the military pressure across the Taiwan Strait: compared to single large-scale military exercises, continuous military aircraft and ship activities and cross-military coordination can more easily normalize high-intensity actions and compress Taiwan's early warning and judgment space. Taiwan views this pattern as long-term training for blockade and "island encirclement" capabilities.

The report also mentions that the increased purge within the Chinese military has increased the opacity of decision-making. Taiwan's defense department believes that Beijing is studying the experiences of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Middle East conflict, including the use of drones, long-range strikes, logistics, and command, and is incorporating these lessons into its military preparations.

It needs to be clarified that Taiwan's defense report is a security assessment by one side of the government, rather than a final independent judgment on China's military capabilities. Beijing has long insisted on its sovereignty over Taiwan and opposes US arms sales to Taiwan; the Taiwan government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims and emphasizes that Taiwan's future should be decided by the local people.

The United States continues to provide Taiwan with weapons and maintain informal relations. At the same time, the competition between the US and China in semiconductors, trade, and military communication makes the risks in the Taiwan Strait not only a cross-strait issue but also directly related to the security of regional allies, supply chains, and the global tech industry.

What is truly worth attention is not whether a particular military exercise means that war is imminent, but whether Beijing is turning the crisis state into a new normal through continuous sea and air activities. Any judgment on specific military capabilities still needs to be verified by combining open satellite data, military exercise subjects, equipment deployment, and multi-party intelligence.