The Global Times (August 24) disclosed that the PLA held more than a hundred military exercises across all major Chinese sea areas over the past three months. It quoted Chinese military experts as saying on August 24 that the PLA has set up a strategic maritime defence perimeter and is prepared for simultaneous battles in multiple directions. It said according to navigation notices released by the Maritime Safety Administration and by defence authorities on the island of Taiwan, the PLA has organized at least 120 military exercises in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Straits and the South China Sea over the past three months. In the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, the PLA hosted at least 48 drills since late May, making the area the most exercise-intensive among others, "probably because the two seas are home to some of the PLA's maritime weapon test sites and gateways to the country's capital Beijing". About 39 PLA exercises were conducted near the island of Taiwan in the past three months. It said the real number could be higher than the Taiwan defense authorities have reported. The PLA Navy conducted at least 26 PLA drills in the three-month period in the South China Sea. The PLA also held at least seven exercises in the East China Sea, which is to the north of the Taiwan island and home to the Diaoyu Islands. Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times that by holding exercises in all major Chinese sea areas, the PLA is preparing to face simultaneous combat from different directions should a military conflict break out. Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times that this also means that the PLA has established a strategic maritime defence perimeter off the coastlines so that hostile forces must think twice before making any action.
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