People’s Liberation Army

Why Did Chinese Air Incursions Decrease to Zero Earlier This Month?

Brian Hioe
China's air incursions dropped to zero earlier this month for close to a two-week period, leading to questions as to why that had taken place. Reflective of the media discourse of today, in which hot takes prevail, there was immediately a large wave of rampant speculation on the Internet. Chinese air incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone–the airspace in which aircraft identify themselves for security purposes–have increased to a near-daily basis since the August 2022 visit to Taiwan by then-US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi...
Cross StraitEnglishInternationalMarch 2026Politics4 min read

Does Xi’s Purge of Generals Make It More Or Less Likely that China Would Attack Taiwan?

Brian Hioe
The Chinese government has continued to purge senior military officials. The latest round of purges leaves Chinese president Xi Jinping in sole operational control of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), with General Zhang Youxia and General Liu Zhengli placed under investigation over apparent violations. The fall from grace of the two generals has taken many by surprise, particularly as Zhang was a personal friend of Xi...
Cross StraitEnglishInternationalJanuary 2026Politics4 min read

End-of-Year Drills Should Disprove View that PLA Exercises Are Only Ever A Response to Taiwan or the US

Brian Hioe
The People's Liberation Army has announced a new set of military drills to take place around Taiwan starting tomorrow. These drills are entitled “Justice Mission 2025.” This breaks from preceding Chinese military drills, with two drills in 2024 entitled “Joint Sword 2024-A” and “Joint Sword 2024-B” in May and October. It is understood that “Justice Mission 2025” will practice blockades of ports and other key strategic infrastructure in Taiwan, with live-fire drills taking place in five maritime and airspace zones...
Cross StraitDecember 2025EnglishInternationalPolitics5 min read

After Lai Trip, China Deploys Largest Number of Naval Vessels Around Taiwan Since 1996

Brian Hioe
China has deployed a large number of vessels around Taiwan, with the Taiwanese military reporting the largest number of naval ships deployed by China since 1996. An uptick in air incursions has also taken place, with 47 detected between 6 AM on Monday and 6 AM on Tuesday. At the same time, it is yet unclear how many ships there are. Reuters reported yesterday that 90 coast guard and naval vessels had been detected, but the Taiwanese military has stated that only 12 naval vessels and nine other ships were detected...
Cross StraitDecember 2024EnglishInternational6 min read

Mere Days After the Inauguration, China Launches Military Drills Around Taiwan to Depict Lai as Provocative

Brian Hioe
China has again launched a set of military exercises around Taiwan. The drills take place around the north, east, and south of Taiwan, in the Taiwan Straits, and around outlying islands of Taiwan and are titled “Joint Sword,” signifying that these drills are following up from Chinese military drills in April 2023...
Cross StraitEnglishInternationalMay 20247 min read

One-Day Uptick in Chinese Military Activity Observed After Lai Transit

Brian Hioe
China launched another set of military drills after vice president William Lai returned from his trip to the US and Paraguay. Lai’s trip involved a stopover in San Francisco and New York City. Though the ostensible main purpose of the trip was to attend the presidential inauguration of Paraguayan president Santiago Peña, there was greater attention to the sensitivity of Lai’s transit through the US, given the possibility of a reaction from China...
August 2023EnglishInternationalPoliticsRegional Tensions6 min read

As China Uses Lai Trip as Pretext for Exercises, Will the Drills be Blown Out of Proportion Internationally?

Brian Hioe
The Chinese government has announced that it will conduct military exercises in the East China Sea starting today until the 14th, in an area approximately 500 kilometers away from Taiwan. Yesterday morning, the Zhejiang Maritime Safety Administration announced a no-sail order lasting from 12 PM today until 4 PM on August 14th in the area the exercises are slated to take place...
August 2023EnglishInternationalPoliticsRegional Tensions6 min read