SCMP: PLA drill in South China Sea about combat readiness, not seizing Taiwanese islands, experts say
* Taipei-controlled Pratas and Taiping islands lost their geostrategic importance to Beijing after it developed eight artificial islands nearby, military observer says
* At least one aircraft carrier from PLA Navy set to take part in summer exercises, which will also incorporate landing drills, insider says
Aircraft carriers from the PLA Navy are set to take part in combat readiness exercises this summer in the South China Sea, and while the drills are likely to raise concerns in Taipei, their aim is not to seize Taiwan-controlled territory, military observers say.
Earlier this month, Japan’s Kyodo News reported that the PLA was planning a large-scale beach landing exercise near Hainan province in August, simulating the takeover of the Pratas Islands – a group of three atolls in the north of the South China Sea that are controlled by Taiwan.
“An aircraft carrier strike group will pass through the Pratas Islands on its way to the exercise site to the southeast of Taiwan in the Philippine Sea,” said a military insider, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
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WNU Editor: They are not focused on seizing Taiwanese islands, they are focused on seizing Taiwan.
