China plans landing drill for Pratas Islands as US ramps up military activity in sensitive Taiwan Strait
The Chinese military is planning to conduct a large-scale landing drill in August to simulate the possible future seizure of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands amid rising tensions between China and the United States in the South China Sea, according to Japanese media reports.
Both Beijing and Washington have ramped up military activities near Taiwan in recent months, including regular Chinese air force drills near the island and several US sailings through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.
The US navy said on Thursday that the USS McCampbell, a guided-missile destroyer, had transited the narrow waterway on Wednesday, just one week before Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's inauguration for a second term in office.
Japan’s Kyodo News reported earlier this week that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army intended to hold a beach landing simulation off Hainan Island, China’s southernmost province, which would mobilise marines, landing ships, hovercrafts and helicopters.
It cited unnamed Chinese sources as indicating the exercise may game out a scenario of capturing Pratas, also known as Dongsha, which is strategically important for China’s advance into the Pacific Ocean.
The island, 530 miles southwest of Taipei, is home to a small airfield used mainly by the Taiwanese military.
In response to the reports, Taiwan’s defence ministry said that it was monitoring movements of “hostile forces” through intelligence gathering and surveillance and that it had contingency plans to defend the island.
China has not announced the drill. Chinese state news outlet, the Global Times, neither confirmed nor denied the reports, but claimed it had “sparked fear” in Taiwan.
Beijing seeks to annex Taiwan, which operates like any other nation with its own democratically elected government and military.
“Chinese mainland experts said on Wednesday that the Dongsha Islands are a strategically important location, and the PLA can turn any exercise into action if Taiwan secessionists insist on secession,” the Global Times reported.
