PLA Southern Theater Command Conducts Live Exercises East of Luzon Strait in Response to US-Philippines Balikatan 2026

China's PLA Southern Theater Command announced on April 24, 2026 that a surface task group comprising a Type 055 destroyer, Type 052D destroyer, Type 054A frigate, and Type 903A replenishment vessel conducted live-fire exercises east of the Luzon Strait. The exercises were explicitly framed as a response to the US-Philippines Balikatan 2026 exercise — the largest annual bilateral military exercise in history — which for the first time included Japan, Australia, Canada, France, and New Zealand alongside US and Philippine forces. The exercises coincided with China's Liaoning aircraft carrier transiting the Taiwan Strait and subsequently joining a PLAN task group deploying into the Philippine Sea. The AEI China-Taiwan Update described the deployments as 'more than a routine drill,' noting the simultaneous Liaoning transit was timed to signal China's ability to project power on multiple axes.