China Fires Rockets Toward Taiwan in Blockade War Games
China’s pre-dawn rocket barrage encircles Taiwan in Beijing’s largest blockade drill to date, rattling markets and raising fears of a new normal in the strait.
Beijing’s Show of Force Sends Ripples Across the Strait
At 3:17 a.m. the sky over Pingtan Island turned orange. Fisherman Lin Chao, 54, felt the wooden planks of his trawler hum as five streaks of light arced eastward. “I thought it was thunder,” he said, voice still shaky. “Then the sea shook.”
The Rockets Speak Louder Than Words
China’s Eastern Theater Command confirmed it had launched multiple “conventional deterrence” rockets into six target boxes encircling Taiwan, the closest splashdown only 19 km from Kaohsiung’s international shipping lane. State broadcaster CCTV called it a “blockade rehearsal,” a phrase repeated across Weibo 1.8 million times within two hours.
“This is no longer saber-rattling; it’s a dress rehearsal for strangulation.”
— Admiral Lee Hsi-ming, former Taiwan defense chief
Inside the Simulation
The People’s Liberation Army released a slick, cinema-grade video: Type-055 cruisers slicing through pre-dawn swells, H-6 bombers releasing YJ-12 missiles, satellite overlays showing red triangles tightening like a noose. Analysts counted at least 27 separate launches—double last August’s tally—while maritime trackers logged the sudden rerouting of 212 commercial vessels.
- Japan’s Defense Ministry logged five suspected ballistic missiles splashing inside its exclusive economic zone.
- Taiwan’s stock market opened 2.4 % lower; the cost of insuring cargo through the strait jumped 18 %.
- Washington postponed a scheduled ICBM test to avoid “misreads.”
Voices Across the Strait
In Taipei’s Shilin Night Market, college student Ivy Wu, 22, queued for pepper buns while checking her phone. “My friends are screenshotting evacuation maps,” she said, “but we still have finals next week.” Meanwhile, in Xiamen—just 300 km away—real-estate agent Chen Yan boasted of record condo sales to mainlanders betting on eventual unification. “The rockets mean it’s closer,” he grinned.
What Comes Next
Regional diplomats warn the drills foreshadow a “new normal”: shorter warning windows, civilian-ship interference, and gray-zone pressure calibrated below war but above dialogue. Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te convened an emergency security meeting, vowing “no concessions on sovereignty,” while Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office hinted at more “comprehensive counter-measures” unless Taipei halts “separatist collusion.”
Back on the water, Lin Chao has already repaired his nets. “We’ve seen fireworks before,” he shrugged, eyes scanning the horizon where rocket smoke still lingered. “But tonight smelled different—like gunpowder instead of salt.”