TAIPEI, Taiwan -- China's military declared Monday that it is "ready to fight" after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president's trip to the U.S. last week.
The "combat readiness patrols" named Joint Sword were meant as a warning to self-governing Taiwan, which China claims as its own, China's military said earlier.
"The theater's troops are ready to fight at all times and can fight at any time to resolutely smash any form of 'Taiwan independence' and foreign interference attempts," it said Monday.
The exercises were similar to ones conducted by China last August, when it launched missile strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan in retaliation for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, but have been smaller and less disruptive.
Military experts say the exercises serve as intimidation and as an opportunity for Chinese troops to practice sealing off Taiwan by blocking sea and air traffic, an important strategic option the Chinese might pursue if it uses military force to take Taiwan.
The Chinese actions follow President Tsai Ing-wen's delicate mission to shore up Taiwan's dwindling diplomatic alliances in Central America and increase its U.S. support, a trip capped with a meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California. A U.S. congressional delegation also met with Tsai over the weekend in Taiwan after she returned.
China responded immediately to the McCarthy meeting by imposing a travel ban and financial sanctions against those associated with Tsai's U.S. trip and with increased military activity through the weekend.
"China wants to use any increase of diplomatic interactions between the U.S. and Taiwan as an excuse to train its military," said Kuo Yu-jen, a defense studies expert and director of the Institute for National Policy Research in Taiwan.
Beijing says contact between foreign officials and the island's democratic government encourages Taiwanese who want formal independence, a step China's ruling Communist Party says would lead to war. The sides split in 1949 after a civil war, and the Communist Party says the island is obliged to rejoin the mainland, by force if necessary.
After Pelosi visited Taiwan, China conducted missile strikes on targets in the seas around Taiwan, while also sending warships and warplanes over the median line of the Taiwan Strait. It also fired missiles over the island itself, which landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone, in a significant escalation.
The live-fire exercises disrupted flights and shipping in one of the busiest shipping lanes for global trade. This time, shipping and maritime traffic have largely continued as normal, Kuo said.
The exercises this time have focused more on air strength, with Taiwan reporting more than 200 flights by Chinese warplanes in the past three days. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, citing the People's Liberation Army, said the exercises are "simulating the joint sealing off" of Taiwan as well as "waves of simulated strikes" at important targets on the island.
On Monday, the PLA said its Shandong aircraft carrier was taking part in the exercises encircling Taiwan for the first time. It showed a video of a fighter jet taking off from the deck of the ship in a post on Weibo, a social media platform.
The appearance of the Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean suggests that it could be used to prevent foreign militaries from coming to help Taiwan, said Han Gan-ming, a research fellow at the government-backed Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
"In the future if there's a similar military maneuver, then Taiwan will have to face it alone," Han said.
FILE - In this image made from video footage made available Sunday, April 9, 2023, by China's CCTV, Chinese navy ships take part in a military drill in the Taiwan Strait. Chinas military sent several dozen warplanes and 11 warships toward Taiwan in a display of force directed at the self-ruled island, Taiwans Defense Ministry said Monday, April 10, after China launched large-scale military drills in retaliation for a meeting between the U.S. House of Representatives speaker and Taiwan's President. (CCTV via AP, File)
An outdoor screen shows the recently concluded Joint Sword exercise around Taiwan depicting a missile being prepared during the evening news broadcast in Beijing, Monday, April 10, 2023. China's military declared Monday it is "ready to fight" after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president's trip to the U.S. last week. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
An outdoor screen depicts a Chinese fighter jet pilot giving a thumbs up in the recently concluded Joint Sword exercise around Taiwan during the evening news broadcast in Beijing, Monday, April 10, 2023. China's military declared Monday it is "ready to fight" after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president's trip to the U.S. last week. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
The evening news broadcast shows Chinese fighter jets on an aircraft carrier with the Chinese subtitles "Eastern Battle District successfully concludes the patrol exercise around the taiwan island and Joint Sword exercise" on an outdoor screen in Beijing, Monday, April 10, 2023. China's military declared Monday it is "ready to fight" after completing three days of large-scale combat exercises around Taiwan that simulated sealing off the island in response to the Taiwanese president's trip to the U.S. last week. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)