PLA launches 'Strait Thunder-2025A' exercises in middle, southern areas of Taiwan Strait

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command on Wednesday conducted military exercises code-named "Strait Thunder-2025A" in the middle and southern areas of the Taiwan Strait.

The exercises focused on subjects of identification and verification, warning and expulsion, and interception and detention to test the troops' capabilities of area seizure and control, joint blockade and control, and precision strikes on key targets, according to Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the theater command.

PLA ground forces carried out long-range live-fire drills in designated waters of the East China Sea, launching precision strikes on simulated Taiwan infrastructure targets, including critical ports and energy facilities.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, an Army brigade under the Eastern Theater Command rapidly deployed multiple box-type rocket launchers to pre-determined combat zones. The detachment that carried out this strike mission has participated in multiple previous military operations against Taiwan separatist forces and was awarded the honorary title of "Model Rocket Artillery Company" by the Central Military Commission (CMC) in July 2024.

Upon receiving orders, shells whizzed like arrows from a bow and streaked toward their targets. This long-range firepower exercise featured the integration of new systems, deployment of advanced equipment, and testing of innovative tactics, with a special focus on multi-platform coordinated assaults and mixed munitions strikes.

It demonstrated the PLA's enhanced firepower response and joint precision strike capabilities, while testing the military's ability to control energy supply routes, sever logistical channels, and blockade covert pathways. The strikes achieve all expected outcomes.

"In accordance with combat requirements, we have established direct coordination with the air force and rocket force to enhance joint long-range precision strike capabilities. As soon as the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the Central Military Commission (CMC) and President Xi give the order, we will unsheathe our swords without hesitation and take decisive action in the Taiwan Strait, resolutely crushing all separatist forces," said Tao Chenglong, one of the PLA soldiers who performed the strike mission.

Meanwhile, supported by an integrated early-warning system, multiple waves of fighter-bombers from the Eastern Theater Command's air force advanced toward the Taiwan Strait and the island's southwest to establish attack formations and simulate strikes on high-value military targets in Taiwan.

The PLA Rocket Force also maintains constant combat readiness. In another designated exercise zone, Rocket Force conventional missile units tasked with a joint strike mission swiftly established launch positions, erected missiles, and completed combat preparations within the preset timeframe.

When advancing to another mission zone, all launch units maintained highly efficient communication, ensuring rapid positional shifts, swift missile reloads, and immediate camouflage to sharpen combat readiness.

"We maintain a high state of alert for immediate transition from training to combat. With missiles loaded and primed on launch platforms, we are confident and capable of handling any complex scenario and challenge. We are prepared to execute immediate launches upon orders, resolutely accomplish the combat missions, and decisively thwart all forms of external interference and Taiwan separatist schemes. The Party and people can rest assured," said Cheng Shijie, a solider of the PLA Rocket Force.

PLA launches 'Strait Thunder-2025A' exercises in middle, southern areas of Taiwan Strait

PLA launches 'Strait Thunder-2025A' exercises in middle, southern areas of Taiwan Strait

PLA launches 'Strait Thunder-2025A' exercises in middle, southern areas of Taiwan Strait

PLA launches 'Strait Thunder-2025A' exercises in middle, southern areas of Taiwan Strait

The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 72,027, with 171,651 others wounded since Oct 7, 2023, Gaza-based health authorities said on Saturday.

In a press statement, the authorities said that 174 deaths from Jan 30 to Feb 6 were added to the official count, following approval by the relevant government committee.

Since a ceasefire in Gaza came into effect in October, 576 Palestinians have been killed and 1,543 others wounded, it added.

In a separate statement, the health authorities said that the remaining functioning hospitals in the Gaza Strip, struggling to continue providing services, have become mere waiting rooms for thousands of patients, adding that many of the wounded face an uncertain fate.

The war has made sustaining healthcare a daily struggle, severely hindering recovery and the revival of specialized medical services, the authorities said.

The statement warned that basic painkillers have become a rare luxury due to shortages. It also said that 46 percent of essential medicines, 66 percent of medical supplies and 84 percent of laboratory and blood bank materials are completely out of stock.

It added that cancer treatment, hematology, surgery, intensive care and primary healthcare are among the hardest hit, with the limited supplies available falling far short of demand.

Palestinian death toll in Gaza Strip surpasses 72,000 since Oct 2023