China’s efforts to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan are accelerating, suggesting that China’s invasion should be expected after August 2023. By this time, the People’s Liberation Army will have conducted exercises to demonstrate and prepare its abilities to invade the island.

The current “Joint Sword” exercise is the second major rehearsal for an invasion of Taiwan in the past 10 months. The first was the August 2022 PLA exercise, again surrounding Taiwan. In both cases, China has used the excuse of independence forces on Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with the U.S. House speaker as the impetus for these provocative acts. Still, that explanation is a cover for invasion exercises.

In fact, these exercises are essential components of the Chinese Communist Party’s grand design to take Taiwan by force. What the world has witnessed are two of the three essential elements (campaigns) for the PRC’s Taiwan invasion strategy — the Joint Fire Strike Campaign and the Joint Anti-Air Raid Campaign.