The Chinese military conducted long-range live-fire rocket drills to the north and south of Taiwan on Tuesday, part of a second day of “major” exercises focused on blockading the democratic island and deterring aid from Taipei’s partners.
Video released by the Chinese military showed trucks carrying advanced PCH-191 multiple-launch rocket systems firing volleys of rockets and striking preset targets in the ocean. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed the launches, saying that debris had been detected within the island’s “contiguous zone” 24 nautical miles (44 kilometers) from its shores.
The two-day “Justice Mission 2025” exercises — the first such drills since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks early last month that Japan could intervene militarily in a crisis over Taiwan — were also employing fighter jets, bombers, destroyers, frigates and, for the first time in drills around the island, China’s massive Type 075 amphibious assault ship.
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