China flexes blockade capabilities near Taiwan on second day of military drills

A Taiwan Mirage 2000 fighter jet at an airbase in Hsinchu in the north of the country (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)

China’s People’s Liberation Army was staging a second day of large-scale military drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, unleashing a live-fire show of force as part of what it called Justice Mission 2025.

The exercise was designed to demonstrate China’s ability to deter any external armed support for the self-ruled island that it has long insisted is part of its sovereign territory.