PLA holds live-fire missile drill along southeastern coast, ‘warns secessionists, external forces’

Soldier assigned to a coastal missile regiment with the navy under the PLA Northern Theater Command rush to their positions during a land-to-sea training exercise on October 11, 2022. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Liu Zihao)

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently held a live-fire missile exercise along the southeastern coast where it can cover the Taiwan Straits, sending a warning to "Taiwan independence" secessionists and external interference forces, experts said on Wednesday.

The navy of the PLA Eastern Theater Command recently conducted an all-element anti-ship missile assault exercise in an eastern coastal region in East China's Fujian Province, with several transporter erector launchers commencing live-fire missile attacks, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Wednesday.

A range of spontaneous situations were simulated during the exercise, including emergencies such as power disruptions and hostile air strikes, in order to train fast reaction capabilities, CCTV reported.

The PLA exercise is announced at a time when the island of Taiwan showed off its weapons and equipment in a media visit to the Pingtung air base on Tuesday, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Observers identified the missiles deployed in the PLA drill as the YJ-62, which also participated in the PLA Eastern Theater Command's previous exercises around the island of Taiwan countering US-Taiwan collusions.

Comparable with the US-made Harpoon missiles, China's YJ-62 is a powerful but cost efficient subsonic anti-ship missile that has several variants, Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Its transporter erector launcher is road-mobile, enabling flexible deployment, and the missile itself is capable of sea-skimming attack that avoids detection and interception, Fu said, noting that the YJ-62 is an important weapon in China's coastal defense and maritime combat capabilities.

When fired from the eastern coast of Fujian Province, the YJ-62 can cover the Taiwan Straits, so the exercise can serve as a deterrent force against "Taiwan independence" secessionists as well as external forces that intentionally provoke and sabotage China's reunification process, Fu said.

The PLA Navy has also commissioned more powerful coast-based anti-ship missiles, such as the supersonic YJ-12, observers noted.

On January 24, the USS John Finn completed a transit through the Taiwan Straits, and the PLA Eastern Theater Command organized forces to track, monitor and deal with the US warship's transit operation throughout its entire course in accordance with the law and regulations, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, a spokesperson at the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said at the time.

Analysts noted that a few foreign warships transiting through the narrow Taiwan Straits are of little military significance, and can only serve the purpose of making a political show, given the PLA's situational awareness and precision strike capabilities.