Beijing’s Taiwan Drills Were Political Posturing, Experts Say

The communist regime’s military drills appear to have been a hastily arranged show, according to some analysts, who suggest old videos were used for publicity.

This photograph released by Taiwan Ministry of National Defense taken from a Taiwan Air Force P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft, shows a Chinese Cloud Shadow WZ-10 drone near Taiwan on March 17, 2025. Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP

China’s military exercise at the start of April to blockade Taiwan was mostly political posturing aimed at Washington, Taipei, and China’s domestic audiences, according to analysts.

On April 1, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command said in announcements on the Chinese-language messaging app WeChat that it was holding joint exercises around Taiwan as a warning and deterrence against what it called “Taiwan Independence separatist forces.”