The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Monday said that the Liaoning aircraft carrier group participated in the joint military drills code-named Joint Sword-2024B in the Taiwan Straits to the east of Taiwan island. Military analysts noted that the Liaoning aircraft carrier has secured a strategic chokepoint, effectively exerting pressure on the "Taiwan independence" secessionists.

Senior Captain Li Xi, spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement on Monday that the PLA Eastern Theater Command employed the Liaoning aircraft carrier group with its troops of army, navy, air force, and rocket force to conduct coordinated drills of vessel-aircraft cooperation, joint air control, and strike on maritime and ground targets in the waters and airspace to the east of Taiwan island. 

The drill is to test the combat capabilities of integrated operations inside and outside the island chain by troops of multiple services, said Li. 

The Liaoning aircraft carrier group has crossed the first island chain and entered the Western Pacific, while an air force bomber formation simultaneously crossed the island chain to conduct joint exercises with the carrier group, Zhang Chi, a professor at the PLA National Defense University, told the Global Times on Monday. 

"From its strategic position, the Liaoning carrier controls a key chokepoint, forming a solid maritime barrier and establishing external blockade and internal pressure, effectively exerting pressure on the 'Taiwan independence' secessionists," said Zhang.

Analysts said that the Joint Sword-2024B drills have achieved multiple significant breakthroughs, including the patrols and control operations of China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels surrounding the Taiwan island, and the participation of the Liaoning carrier group in the exercise.

Zhang said that various military forces displayed exceptional coordination during the exercise, demonstrating PLA's increasingly streamlined joint command and its enhanced joint combat capabilities. 

The Monday joint drills also featured diverse tactics and flexible organization, Zhang said. He noted that the exercise includes air and sea combat readiness patrols, blockades of key ports and strategic areas, coordinated operations to secure air and sea superiority, and long-range precision strikes on critical targets. 

"Meanwhile, firepower units and strike modules were flexibly deployed, emphasizing the PLA's growing array of capabilities and its increasingly decisive combat power," Zhang said. 

The Chinese Ministry of National Defense also unveiled more details and photos of the drills on Monday morning. It said that the PLA Eastern Theater Command was deploying its army, navy, air force, and rocket force troops to conduct the joint military drills in the Taiwan Straits, as well as areas to the north, south, and east of Taiwan island.

The exercise covered a wide range of subjects, such as air and sea combat readiness patrols, blockades of key ports and strategic areas, strikes on sea and land targets, and securing comprehensive battlefield control. After the joint command center of the theater issued the operational orders, ships and aircraft advanced toward Taiwan island from multiple directions, executing joint strikes from various military forces and establishing a multi-directional encirclement.