China, which aspires to annex Taiwan, is producing a military strangulation ring around the island. Maps published today (Thursday) by the Guardian show the deployment of the Chinese army and the naval and air stranglehold.
The maps show that China surrounds Taiwan with an increasingly dense network of military presence. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in military activity around the island.
Among other things, we can see increased air traffic, increased naval presence, and the construction of infrastructure and bases near the island (on the southeastern coast of China). In the air, for example, Chinese fighter jets frequently penetrated Taiwan's airspace. About 3,000 Chinese planes penetrated the island's airspace during 2024.
The Chinese military is building infrastructure and bases around the island, with new access points for aircraft and vessels, in addition to deploying missile launchers and UAV launchers.
In May and October, the "Free Chinese Army" (supposedly not the official Chinese Army) carried out exercises called the First Sword and the Second Sword. As part of them, the forces completely surrounded the main island in what could have become the true scenario, but of course it was not carried out.
Former Taiwanese military commander Li Hsi-ming told the Guardian: "China's tactics are meaningless as long as Taiwan does not surrender, and that is the goal of its strategy." The island's navy commander told The Economist in October that the "Free China Army" was using the "Anaconda" strategy to exhaust Taiwan's response system, make mistakes and create the excuse for a blockade of Taiwan.
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