China has run wargames near Mexico and Cuba, with Beijing becoming increasingly brazen in brandishing its military might in the Western Hemisphere.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted military exercises in Xuchang, located in Henan province, with scenarios encompassing the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.
It marks one of the first occasions that Chinese authorities have openly acknowledged preparations for potential military operations in the Americas.
The exercises signal an increasingly assertive posture from Beijing’s armed forces, extending their strategic planning far beyond traditional flashpoints in the Asia-Pacific region.
Twenty military units participated in the event.
Footage broadcast by local media revealed screens displaying opposing forces, marked in red and blue, manoeuvring towards one another off the Cuban and Mexican coastlines.
The blue units, typically representing adversary forces in Chinese military exercises, were positioned near Houston, Texas, advancing into the Gulf of Mexico.
Meanwhile, red-coloured formations, which conventionally denote PLA forces, were shown operating within Caribbean waters.
China’s Xi Jinping extended strategic planning far beyond traditional flashpoints in the Asia-Pacific region with the military exercises
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The visual displays captured during the event illustrated detailed tactical movements, with units from both sides converging in what appeared to be simulated naval engagements.
Such imagery provides rare insight into how Chinese military planners are conceptualising potential conflicts thousands of miles from their own shores, in waters traditionally considered within America’s sphere of influence.
Separate displays during the exercises depicted scenarios involving Taiwan, which featured prominently at the centre of one tactical map.
The PLA has regularly conducted military drills around the self-governing island, which Beijing claims as its territory.
Another screen showed red units positioned near Russia’s far eastern coastline, with blue formations located over Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido and the disputed Kuril Islands.
China has previously undertaken joint training operations with Russian forces in the Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan, making these particular simulations less surprising than the Americas-focused scenarios.
However, the public revelation of exercises spanning such geographically diverse theatres underscores the breadth of Beijing’s military planning and its willingness to signal strategic intentions across multiple potential conflict zones simultaneously.
The disclosure of the wargames coincides with Donald Trump’s announcement that the US Navy will receive a new category of warships he has named “Trump-class” vessels.
Donald Trump has announced the US Navy will receive a new category of warships named “Trump-class” vessels
The American president approved immediate construction of the first two ships, with the inaugural vessel to be christened USS Defiant.
Mr Trump described the planned 30,000 to 40,000-ton warships as potentially the largest and most powerful battleships ever constructed, claiming they would be 100 times more formidable than the Second World War-era Iowa-class vessels.
The administration intends to expand from an initial pair to a fleet of 10, eventually reaching 20 to 25 ships.
These vessels are designed to incorporate electric rail guns, hypersonic weaponry and high-powered laser systems, alongside nuclear capabilities and artificial intelligence integration.
