BEIJING/TAIPEI, Dec 30 (Reuters) - China launched 10 hours of live-firing exercises around Taiwan on Tuesday, the second day of Beijing's largest-ever war games around the island, aimed at swiftly cutting its links to outside support in the event of a conflict.
The Eastern Theatre Command said the drills would take place until 6 p.m. (1000 GMT) in the sea and airspace of five locations surrounding the island, demonstrating the Chinese military's resolve to "combat separatism and promote unification
without hesitation."
China's Maritime Safety Administration on Monday designated two further zones within which live-firing would take place, making the "Justice Mission 2025" drills the largest to date by total coverage and in areas closer to Taiwan than previous exercises.
The war games began 11 days after the U.S. announced a record $11.1 billion arms package to Taiwan, drawing the Chinese defence ministry's ire and warnings that the military would "take forceful measures" in response.
The exercises - China's sixth major round of war games since 2022, when then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the democratically governed island - are intended to rehearse a rapid encirclement of the island to destroy its weapons stockpile and obstruct efforts to resupply Taiwan from Japan or nearby U.S. bases, analysts say.
"This constitutes a blatant provocation of the international situation," said a senior Taiwan security official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. "As one of the world's most critical shipping lanes, they seek to reshape the international order according to their own agenda."
The official said Taipei is closely monitoring whether China would seek "further provocation" in the drills on Tuesday, including flying missiles over Taiwan, similar to the Chinese drills in 2022.
"China is trying to make progress in asserting dominance over the entire island chain through extreme pressure tactics in various ways," the official said.
The Chinese military said it had deployed destroyers, bombers and other units to drill sea-based assaults, air defence and anti-submarine operations on Tuesday, to "test sea and air forces' ability to coordinate for integrated containment and control."
Taiwan rejects China's claimed sovereignty, maintaining that only its people can decide the island's future.
(Reporting by Joe Cash in Beijing and Yimou Lee in Taipei; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
