UPDATED: Joint Sword B - 153 Chinese Aircraft - NEW RECORD!
China Surrounds Taiwan - Practicing for Final Battle in 2025?
NOTE: Because of the seriousness of 2024B, I have asked my wife to secure a two-year Electronic System For Travel Authorization (ESTA) for the U.S. Good for visits of 90 days (multi-entry). This is cheap and though it does not entitle her to apply for citizenship, it serves as an emergency backdoor.
China In Arms BOOKSTORE and GIFT SHOP!
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14 October 2024 (Monday)
Joint Sword B - 153 Chinese Aircraft - NEW RECORD!
China Surrounds Taiwan - Practicing for Final Battle in 2025?
By Wendell Minnick (Whiskey Mike) 顏文德
TAIPEI - Every six months the Chinese squeeze Taiwan by air and sea. Air sorties crossing into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (AIDZ) are now around 70%.
If you compare the Joint Sword 2024A to the 2024B, complete air and sea domination is undeniably part of China’s strategy to take the island.
China set a new record in sorties with 153 aircraft on 14-15 October.
Before this, the highest rate of sorties was 11 July 2024 when at total of 66 aircraft entered the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
14-15 October: 153 aircraft with 111 (72%) entering the ADIZ.
The “Anaconda Strategy” gives Taiwan no options beyond using air defense missiles (Patriot PAC-3/Tien Kung 3) and Hsiung Feng 2/3 anti-ship missiles as their primary defense tools. There are land-based cruise missiles, locally designed, but their numbers, deployments, and other information is still questionable.
According to the Chinese media:
"PLA Eastern Theater Command is dispatching its troops of army, navy, air force and rocket force to conduct joint military drills code-named Joint Sword-2024B in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan Island."
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) responded to the Chinese announcement with a propaganda puff piece:
14 OCTOBER 2024, MND, TAIWAN PREPARES:
Suggested books for edification:
Chinese Air-Launched Weapons & Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Targeting Pods (2019)
Chinese Army Vehicles: Armored Personnel Vehicles, Trucks and Logistics Support Vehicles (2019)
Chinese C4I/EW (Vol. 1) (2022) Volume 1.
Chinese C4I/EW (Vol. 2) (2022) Volume 2.
Chinese Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (2016) Note this is Volume 1.
Chinese People's Liberation Army: Analysis of a Cold War Classic (2015)
Chinese Rocket Systems: Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (2016)
Chinese Rotary/VTOL Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (2016) Volume 1.
Chinese Seaplanes, Amphibious Aircraft and Aerostats/Airships (2016)
More Chinese Fixed Wing UAVs (2019) Volume 2.
More Chinese Rotary & VTOL UAVs (2019) Volume 2.
Taiwan Army Weapons and Equipment, including Marine Corps (2022)
Taiwan Cyberwarfare: Government and Military Documents (2018)
