The Chinese military last night said it had concluded the two days of drills, codenamed “Strait Thunder-2025A.”

This does not mean that their appearance guarantees that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is imminent. At present there are reported to be three completed prototype landing barges ready for deployment and three under construction. This would offer one or two beach bridges, each an estimated 820 metres long.

The Chinese aircraft carrier CNS Shandong (17) made its first deployment to the Western Pacific for 2025 and was a major unit in Tuesday’s military drill targeted at intimidating Taiwan Tuesday, according to Beijing officials.

The brother-in-law of a top Democratic senator has repeatedly hosted CCP diplomats at his office and recruited Chinese businesses to lease office space in New York City.

Under Xi Jinping’s rule, not only has the CCP taken a more extensive role in everyday life, it has redefined the meaning of what it is to be Chinese.

The WeChat account of Tongzhan Xinyu releases the full text of the revised Rules for the Implementation of the Provisions on the Administration of Religious Activities of Aliens within the Territory of the People's Republic of China on April 1, 2025. Photo: Screenshot of the WeChat account of Tongzhan Xinyu

Taiwan will use this year's events to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two to bolster public sentiment on the need to defend the island from Chinese threats - and remind the world it was not the government in Beijing that won the war.

The Chinese military is more active near Taiwan than it has been in the past, with increased daily operations and more frequent patrols and exercises.

Vladimir Putin met with Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China, Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs,