China's latest military drills around Taiwan lower the threshold for the still unlikely prospect of a blockade and highlight Beijing's military coercive strategy toward Taiwan through 2028, which will galvanize Western commitment to military deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and contribute to slow business decoupling from China and Taiwan. On Oct. 14, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command (ETC) carried out Joint Sword 2024B joint military drills around Taiwan that involved the Chinese army, navy, air force, rocket force and coast guard. An ETC spokesperson said the drills ''fully tested the integrated joint operation capabilities of its troops'' and focused on ''combat readiness patrols, blockades of key ports and key areas,'' and ''sea and land strikes.'' The spokesperson further noted that ETC troops will ''resolutely thwart the separatist activities of 'Taiwan independence.''' All six main drill areas around the main island overlapped with Taiwan's claimed de facto contiguous zone...
