Following joint military exercises around Taiwan island a day earlier, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command on Wednesday continued its operations, organizing the "Strait Thunder-2025A" exercises in the central and southern areas of the Taiwan Straits. An expert on the Taiwan question said the sustained exercises by the PLA not only impose military pressure on "Taiwan independence" forces but, more importantly, expose and weaken the political tactics of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, who seek to manipulate cross-Straits confrontation and hold the interests of the Taiwan people hostage.

The "Strait Thunder-2025A" exercises caught the DPP authorities off guard, Zheng Jian, a professor at the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Zheng noted that compared with earlier speculations from Taiwan commentators, this round of exercises was more powerful in deterrence. "The PLA's evolving drill patterns - marked by increased unpredictability - have left the 'Taiwan independence' forces unable to anticipate its actions, subjecting them to growing psychological pressure," Zheng said.

According to Taiwan media reports, the exercises had an immediate effect in imposing de facto blockade around Taiwan island. Taiwan's CTI News reported that a liquefied natural gas carrier was unable to leave port after the drills began, blocked by the exercise area. "This demonstrates that the designated zones for maritime and aerial operations were carefully planned and precisely executed," Zheng said

The PLA Eastern Theater Command further announced on Wednesday that its ground forces had carried out live-fire drills in the East China Sea, targeting simulated key infrastructure such as ports and energy facilities. The command said the exercise aimed to control energy routes, cut supply channels, and block covert passages, vowing to resolutely sever the "green terror and Taiwan independence path."

Although the DPP authorities and "Taiwan independence" forces tried to maintain a calm front, claiming that everything is under control, however, Zheng noted that their reactions this time exposed clear vulnerabilities.

"The current drill has already placed the Taiwan island in a quasi-blockade situation," Zheng said. "While Taiwan's so-called 'defense authority' downplays the exercise, local media reports and public comments reflect genuine anxiety and unease."

Zheng said that the "Taiwan independence" forces are unable to assess the drills' scale, scope, and duration. "This uncertainty itself is a major blow to them," he said.

More fundamentally, the sustained PLA exercises strike at the core of the DPP authorities' governance model. Zheng said that Lai Ching-te has been promoting "green dictatorship " on the island, suppressing opponents and fueling social division, while deliberately provoking cross-Straits tensions and creating an atmosphere of anti-mainland hostility to cover up his own governance failures.

"Such political manipulation only forces the people of Taiwan to bear greater risks and costs," Zheng said. "Although the current drills are military in nature, they also serve as a real warning. They tellthe people of Taiwan - the DPP authorities, for their own political interests, are willing to put the entire island in danger," said Zheng.