China has increased its ability to launch a sudden attack on Taiwan with faster-paced air and operations, new artillery systems and more alert amphibious and air assault units, according to Taiwanese and US officials and experts. One senior Taiwanese military official said Chinese air force and missile units that would play a role in a Taiwan invasion had improved to a point where they can “switch from peacetime to war operations anytime”. Other Taiwanese defence officials said People’s Liberation Army operations now included continuous training of amphibious forces near departure ports for a Taiwan invasion, constant readiness of army aviation units that would air-drop into Taiwan and a new rocket system capable of hitting anywhere on the island. Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of US Indo-Pacific command, in February said it was “very close” to the point where the “fig leaf of an exercise” could mask preparations for an attack. PLA warplanes enter Taiwan’s air defence identification zone more than 245 times a month, compared with fewer than 10 a month five years ago, according to Taiwan’s defence ministry. They also cross the median line in the Taiwan Strait 120 times a month, obliterating the once unofficial boundary.

Full analysis : The U.S., Taiwanese officials and defense experts say that PLA’s military build-up enables China to switch from peacetime to war operations quickly.