U.S. reaffirms commitment to Taiwan as Beijing conducts live fire drills in East China Sea

"In the face of China's intimidation and destabilizing behavior, the United States' long-standing commitment to our allies and partner, including Taiwan, remains," Tammy Bruce, U.S. Department of State spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday evening stateside.

The army, navy, and rocket forces of China began a joint exercise on Tuesday, with the military describing the move as a "stern warning" to forces attempting to destabilize peace in the Taiwan Strait.

"China's military provocations and rhetoric towards Taiwan only raise tensions and threaten the security of the region and prosperity of the world," the State Department said, and the U.S. "opposes unilateral efforts to alter the status quo, including through the use of force or coercion."

Chinese military has been holding exercises in attacking maritime and land targets and blockade drills to check the joint operation capacity of troops, it said.

It carried out precision strikes against simulated targets such as ports and energy stations during the recent code-named exercise "Strait Thunder-2025 A," PLA's Senior Colonel Shi Yi said on Wednesday.

The Defense Ministry in Taipei said it detected 76 aircraft, 15 navy vessels and 4 official ships operating around the island as of 6 a.m. That marked the largest scale of aircraft deployment by PLA since the “Joint Sword-2024B” war exercises last October when Taiwan said China used a record number of military aircrafts.

Taiwan's armed forces have retaliated with planes, ships and coastal missile defenses.

The drills are designed to "intimidate the Taiwanese by reminding them of China's significant military power," David Silbey, a professor at Cornell University who specializes in military history and policy, said. The exercises will help Beijing prepare for any actual conflict, he added.

Recent strategic actions are seen by some as proof of Beijing's wrath against President Lai. In his address last month, Lai described the mainland as "foreign hostile forces" and outlined legal and economic measures towards discouraging Beijing's "infiltration" campaign in the island.

The delay in the exercises, which occurred more than two weeks after the speech, is likely due to a flagship business forum in Beijing over the past two weeks, during which Chinese senior leaders had met with multinational corporate executives, Eurasia Group analysts said in a note.

"A Taiwan Strait exercise involving visiting foreign CEOs would have provided Beijing with the chilling effect it requires to keep off foreign investment," said the advisory group.

"Beijing's tendency to cool cross-strait tensions is evaporating," said the analysts, warning that prospects of a "cross-strait crisis" this year are rising.

China regards Taiwan as its own territory — status Taiwan has renounced — and has promised to retake the island, if need be, by force.

There have been several rounds of Chinese military exercises off Taiwan and incursions of Chinese fighter planes into its airspace since President Lai took office about a year ago.