An air-cushioned landing craft attached to a naval landing ship flotilla under the People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command prepares to enter the well deck of the amphibious assault ship Hainan (Hull 31) during a maritime real-combat training exercise recently. Photo: eng.chinamil.com.cn

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) carried out multiple, intensive activities over the past week, highlighting its enhanced capabilities in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, even in distant waters, analysts said on Thursday.

The activities included encircling the island of Taiwan with drones, dispatching warships to the Sea of Japan, holding joint maritime drills with Singapore and evacuating Chinese personnel from Sudan with naval vessels.

Among dozens of PLA aircraft and vessels spotted by the defense authority on the island of Taiwan since last week, two drones attracted particular attention from the media. 

On April 28, the island of Taiwan's defense authority said it spotted a TB-001 armed reconnaissance drone that encircled the island by flying from the island's southwest through its east to its north over the previous day, completing a full encirclement flight counterclockwise. 

Then on Wednesday, the island's defense authority said it spotted a BZK-005 reconnaissance drone, and this time it encircled the island clockwise from the north to the east, then to the southwest.

Media reports said these were the first times the PLA conducted Taiwan island encirclement drone flights, with analysts saying that the drones could conduct reconnaissance on the eastern side of the island and provide target guidance for fire strikes. Others said that the drones could carry out decapitation strikes on secessionist leaders should a conflict break out.

The PLA has been holding routine patrols and exercises around the island of Taiwan, including with drones, so such island encirclement drone flights could also become regular, a Beijing-based military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday.

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force spotted a PLA Navy flotilla consisting of a Type 055 large destroyer, two Type 052D destroyers, a Type 054A frigate and a Type 903A comprehensive replenishment ship when the vessels sailed from the East China Sea through the Tsushima Strait to the Sea of Japan on Sunday, Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff said in a press release on Monday.

This seems to be a routine far sea training exercise, observers said. Type 055 large destroyers have been leading flotillas in similar voyages over the past few years, with some of them circumnavigating Japan and others reaching the Bering Sea to locations near the US state of Alaska.

After wrapping up the five-day China-Singapore Exercise Maritime Cooperation 2023 on Monday, a PLA Navy flotilla consisting of a frigate and a minesweeper hunter participated in the International Maritime Defense Exhibition Asia in Singapore starting on Wednesday, China's Ministry of National Defense said in a press release on Thursday.

In the joint drills, the two countries' navies practiced anti-sea mining, minefield transit guidance, maritime replenishment, live-fire naval artillery shooting, joint search and rescue as well as medical aid missions, the Chinese Defense Ministry said. The exhibition is expected to enhance mutual trust and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times that the joint drills and the exhibition will provide a stabilizing factor in the South China Sea amid the Philippines' leaning toward the US, an external force.

After completing the mission to evacuate Chinese personnel from Sudan, the PLA Navy destroyer Nanning and the comprehensive replenishment ship Weishanhu left the Red Sea and rendezvoused with the frigate Sanya and continued their escort mission in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on the day.

The operation showed that the PLA Navy now has the capability that matches China's international status and the country's security and development interests, the PLA Daily quoted military expert Li Jian as saying.