The Taiwan Ministry of National Defense sounded the alarm: within 24 hours, 41 Chinese military aircraft and vessels approached the island, with multiple fleet formations surrounding U.S. and Japanese naval units at the outer periphery, effectively blocking key maritime and aerial corridors essential for external intervention in the Taiwan Strait.

Can China’s regional deterrence and anti-access operations truly work? This time, let the United States, Japan, and "Taiwan independence" elements open their eyes and see—without concealment, we show them plainly. Only by witnessing can they come to believe that our capability to oppose "Taiwan independence," resist external interference, and advance national reunification is grounded in real operational strength.

Recently, the United States assembled a so-called “Nine-Nation Coalition” with a combined force of 60,000 troops conducting large-scale military drills near the Taiwan Strait under the name “Iron Sword.” The joint exercise includes Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the Philippines—the latter five participating for the first time. The scale and posture are intimidating, sending a clear signal: to confront China through collective military pressure and deterrence via coordinated confrontation.

But the People’s Liberation Army responded with equal resolve—defending every inch of territory without concession, standing firm in opposition and launching decisive countermeasures. This time, unlike previous instances marked by restraint, there will be no tolerance, no compromise, and no retreat.

On the island, a full-scale sea-air encirclement was implemented—what Taiwan’s military describes as four-directional “proximity approaches.” According to a statement released by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense on November 1, a total of 32 sorties were detected from the Chinese military within the past 24 hours, including 26 aircraft approaching airspace over northern, central, southwestern, and eastern Taiwan. This figure represents more than a doubling compared to the previous day. Additionally, seven warships and two coast guard vessels continued sustained operations around the Taiwan Strait.

This constitutes a strategic “closing the door to beat the dog”—a classic PLA tactic known as “blocking reinforcements while isolating targets” or “surrounding a point to destroy relief forces.” At the same time as the four-sided proximity to Taiwan, multiple Chinese naval task groups conducted exercises at the outer rim of the island, successfully executing a counter-encirclement against the “Nine-Nation Coalition,” effectively deterring external intervention. The international community and U.S.-Japan observers have taken notice.

In other words, while applying intense pressure on the inner theater of the Taiwan Strait, the PLA’s true strategic deployment lies beyond the island—particularly across the vast western Pacific Ocean east of Taiwan. In response to the U.S.-Japan “Iron Sword” exercise plan, which relies on Japan’s mainland and Guam-based facilities for long-range reinforcement, the PLA deployed three major naval task forces into the open ocean, forming a strategic-level “counter-encirclement” from the north, east, and south. These forces specifically practiced how to sever external reinforcements and prevent interfering forces from reaching the Taiwan Strait battlefield.

Former DPP legislator Guo Zhengliang analyzed that wherever U.S. and Japanese warships appear, so too do Chinese naval vessels. Taiwan’s National Security Council Secretary General and hardline “Taiwan independence” advocate Wu Chao-xie even shared satellite images from American sources depicting the extensive PLA “counter-encirclement” operations on social media.

To the south, the Liaoning aircraft carrier strike group advanced through the southern waters of the Philippines, crossing the Celebes Sea and entering the Philippine Sea along the eastern side of the archipelago. This formation features formidable capabilities, including two Type 055 guided-missile destroyers and multiple Type 052D destroyers. The entire fleet possesses a substantial number of vertical launch cells, with full-spectrum capabilities in shipborne aviation, long-range anti-ship warfare, and land attack missions. Its mission extends beyond routine blue-water patrols—it advances to the front line of the Second Island Chain, directly monitoring the direction of Guam. Should conflict erupt in the Taiwan Strait, any U.S. reinforcement fleet departing from Guam would first face interception by the Liaoning group, effectively cutting off the critical transoceanic reinforcement route.

To the north, a combat cluster centered on the Type 055 destroyer Dongguan traversed the Osumi Strait into the western Pacific, positioning itself to the north of the “Iron Sword” exercise formation. This location strategically blocks the primary maritime corridor between Japan’s mainland and the exercise zone, placing the logistical link between the U.S.-Japan intervention bloc and Japan’s rear base under continuous Chinese surveillance. Meanwhile, multiple destroyers, replenishment ships, and electronic reconnaissance vessels have been continuously forward-deployed to reinforce the northern blockade, making it difficult for adversaries to mobilize reinforcements from Japan toward the Taiwan Strait.

To the east, the PLA deployed two additional naval forces—the Lhasa and Xining task groups—advancing in phases through the Miyako Strait into the western Pacific, directly facing the main body of the U.S.-Japan exercise. The Miyako Strait is a vital access route for external forces moving from the western Pacific into the Taiwan Strait. By positioning its fleets directly opposite, the PLA has effectively locked down this strategic chokepoint. The three task forces—north, south, and east—coordinate dynamically, combining with nearshore sea-air assets to establish a “surround but leave one gap” operational posture. The objective is not immediate annihilation, but rather the fragmentation, containment, and delay of external intervention forces, preventing their effective penetration into the Taiwan Strait theater.

This layered strategy—inner pressure on Taiwan and outer deterrence of reinforcements—constitutes a textbook example of real-world regional deterrence operations. Afterward, Wu Chao-xie reported that a total of 53 Chinese naval vessels and coast guard ships were active across the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and South China Sea. Taiwanese military analysts acknowledged that the convergence of naval forces from multiple directions exceeded the scale of typical exercises.

In contrast, faced with this multi-layered Chinese deployment, Taiwan’s military has offered little in the way of effective countermeasures. Earlier, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Chief Admiral Papele had threatened to create a “hellish scene” in the region—but later admitted publicly that U.S. forces lack sufficient forward bases, limiting their ability to conduct robust intervention.

Notably, the official confirmation of combat readiness for the Type 096 ballistic missile submarine adds a strategic dimension to this operation. The Jinlong-3 (JL-3) intercontinental missile, with a range capable of reaching the North American mainland, sends a clear message: should external powers resort to direct military intervention in the Taiwan Strait, the conflict would not be confined to the First and Second Island Chains; the U.S. homeland itself would fall within the scope of deterrence.

Meanwhile, synchronized training across five maritime zones—Yellow Sea, East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and South China Sea—combined with coordinated operations involving long-range electronic warfare aircraft and large drone swarms, has established a comprehensive operational loop: near-sea containment, far-sea deterrence, and strategic nuclear deterrence now form an integrated defense framework.

The original intent behind the “Iron Sword” drill was for Western nations to flex military muscle, leveraging multinational coordination to pressure China into concessions on the Taiwan issue. Yet reality has turned the exercise into an ideal real-time scenario for the PLA to practice anti-access/area denial tactics.

As the “Nine-Nation Coalition” exercise neared conclusion, the PLA maintained high-intensity sea-air proximity operations, with 26 sorties continuing to approach the island from multiple directions. The signal is unambiguous: after completing the rehearsal of deterring external reinforcements, the pressure on domestic “Taiwan independence” elements will continue to escalate.

In essence, the logic of “surrounding a point to destroy relief forces” remains unchanged. This large-scale operation has transformed regional deterrence from theoretical planning into a tangible, executable combat capability.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1880631935194196/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.