Mainland China stepping up preparations for Taiwan blockade, report says

Recent reports indicate that mainland China is intensifying its preparations for a potential blockade of Taiwan, according to a newly released defense ministry report. The "2026 China Military Power Report," submitted to the legislature this week alongside a five-year force development plan and next year's defense budget, highlights the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) increasing focus on joint blockade and control of Taiwan's external air and sea routes.

The PLA has been enhancing its capabilities in maritime and air blockades, joint firepower strikes, seizure of battlefield superiority, and amphibious landing operations. These exercises, combined with regular PLA training, aim to bolster the PLA's ability to target Taiwan and counter any potential foreign intervention. Beijing views Taiwan as an integral part of China and has not ruled out the use of force to reunify the island.

While most nations, including Taiwan's main international ally, the United States, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state, Washington refuses to sanction any attempt to forcibly take Taiwan and is legally obligated to provide it with defensive weaponry. Recent PLA exercises have simulated blockades, military-law enforcement operations, and long-range live-fire strikes across the Taiwan Strait, where warplanes and drones have been observed crossing the nominal boundary dividing the two sides.

Taiwan's military is bolstering its C5ISR (command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) networks and incorporating AI-assisted systems into its decision-making process. In this year's Han Kuang exercises, the island's largest annual war games, countering a maritime blockade and quarantine took center stage for the first time.

A scenario in the exercises involved Taiwan's western ports and shipping routes being blocked, forcing foreign assistance and critical supplies to enter through a strategic lifeline off the east coast. Another exercise tested the coastguard's integration into naval command-and-control structures, with a Yung Feng-class minesweeper clearing a shipping route and navy and coastguard ships forming a protective screen around a merchant vessel.

The exercise also assessed the island's capability to sustain forces during a blockade by deploying ground forces to secure ports on the east coast, while civilian trucks and heavy port equipment were mobilized to unload and transport supplies inland.