China’s military on Friday tested its ability to “seize power” as the People’s Liberation Army said its forces kicked off a second day of large-scale exercises around Taiwan in retaliation to its new President Lai Ching-te’s remarks rejecting Beijing’s sovereignty claims over the self-ruled island.

Li Xi, the spokesperson for the Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), said the combined forces of the army, navy, air force, and rocket forces continued joint drills surrounding Taiwan Island focusing on practicing control and occupation of the area on the concluding day of the two-day drill.

“Integrated operations inside and outside the island chain are being conducted to test the command’s capabilities to jointly take control of the battlefield and launch joint strikes, and to seize control of crucial areas,” he said in a press release here.

Separately, the Chinese Coast Guard said it focussed its drills in the Taiwan Strait, the narrow waters that separate the Chinese mainland and Taiwan on verification and identification as well as warning and expulsion of any foreign vessels in times of conflict.

Military analysts say the PLA, which has been carrying out aggressive military exercises since the visit of the then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August 2022, practiced a possible takeover of the estranged island through military action at lightning speed.

China, which views Taiwan as a rebel province that must be reunified with the mainland, may launch its offensive in 2027, according to top Taiwan politicians.

The PLA Eastern Theatre Command, which launched the two-day exercise on Thursday, said, “The drills also serve as a strong punishment for the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces.”

A 3D video of simulated strikes was released by the command, showing targets in the Taiwanese cities of Taipei, Hualien, and Kaohsiung hit by the PLA’s air, naval, and rocket forces, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

According to Taiwan’s defence ministry, 49 PLA aircraft, 19 PLA naval vessels, and seven coastguard vessels were detected operating around Taiwan till Friday morning.

It said 35 aircraft crossed the median line — a notional midpoint in the Taiwan Strait — and entered the southwestern air defence identification zone. The island’s armed forces monitored the situation and responded accordingly, it said.

The number of aircraft detected near the island on Friday was lower than the PLA’s first day of drills compared to the previous drills last April, the Post report said.