Recently the Chinese military conducted surprise live-fire drills on some of the ports and energy facilities in Taiwan. China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) organised the “Strait Thunder-2025A” to practice on the central and southern parts of the Taiwan Strait.

These areas are the crucial shipping lanes. Therefore, the test was conducted to check the PLA’s capabilities to blockade and control the critical infrastructure.

These military drills gave rise to tensions between Beijing and Taipei. Lai Ching-te, the Taiwanese president, referred to China as a “foreign hostile force”. China responded by setting up military branches like army, navy, air, and rocket units all around Taiwan to exercise these strikes and blockades.
The Chinese military has deployed 21 warships along with the Shandong aircraft carrier group and 71 aircraft around the island, as reported by Taiwan’s defence military.

Taiwan is an important zone between China and the United States. The United States condemned China’s action. The US called out China’s military activities as aggressive and responsible for causing tension around Taiwan and also putting the world’s prosperity at risk.

These developments underscore the escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait, raising concerns about regional stability and the potential for broader international implications.

Taiwan was never formally announced as independent. But President Lai from the Democratic Progressive Party considers the country as “already independent.”

Only 11 countries, mostly in the Pacific and Caribbean regions, consider Taiwan’s statehood. Taiwan is operated by its own government and practices democracy. The government and the people oppose Chinese rules and refuse to accept them.

In recent years, China has launched several drills against Taiwan. These drills were often a response to Taiwan’s acts of separatism or assertions of sovereignty. The current president of Taiwan, Lai, was elected to continue the pro-sovereignty rule last year.