00:00Soldiers on China's east coast rush to launch missiles, and in the seas around Taiwan, Chinese
00:09Navy ships patrol.
00:11This is the second day of large-scale military exercises announced by Beijing, with new drills
00:16called Straight Thunder 2025A, practicing using live ammunition to simulate precision
00:21strikes on Taiwan and the East China Sea.
00:25Here in Taipei, officials are on alert, as they say the drills are also practicing how
00:29to surround and blockade the country.
00:31On Wednesday, Taiwan's defense ministry reported 27 Chinese military aircraft and 21 naval
00:37ships in the region.
00:38Intelligence officials say that China's Shandong carrier got closer to Taiwan, and that they
00:43are monitoring the situation for anything unusual.
00:46Yesterday, the location was 220 nautical miles, and today it is 190 nautical miles, because
00:50the ship is moving.
00:51So no matter how far it is from us, it is still a target that we are concerned about.
00:58But one of the most notable parts of the drills is the use of a new name.
01:06Previously, Chinese officials said large-scale drills would be a new normal and did need
01:10a label.
01:12Previous drills have been under the name Joint Sword, but Taiwan's defense ministry says
01:16whatever the name, there's no disguising the intent behind the drills.
01:20The most important part is what we see in the military.
01:26No matter what the name is, we think there's no way to cover up the military's eyes, provocation
01:36and threat to the people of Taiwan.
01:42With the increase in military activity and the diverse set of names, China seems to be
01:46conducting more comprehensive types of drills.
01:49This is a trend that's growing more concerning as China doubles down on threats to take Taiwan
01:53by force.
01:54I mean, I think it's definitely getting much more in the rehearsal phase than it was in
01:58the past.
02:01So it's putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the Taiwanese armed forces.
02:06But I think it's going to send some pretty big shockwaves throughout the Taiwanese Minister
02:12of National Defense and the ROC forces about how do they respond.
02:17Taiwan's military says it has mobilized units across the country and it's conducting its
02:21own exercises to see how quickly it can respond to the variety of threats posed by China.
02:27This is the fourth large-scale military exercise from China in less than 12 months.
02:31And here at the defense ministry, officials say that they expect more exercises like this,
02:36but that they're taking it as an opportunity to learn about China's capabilities and further
02:40boost their own defenses.
02:41Fu Hua Hong and Jaime Ocon in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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