-China is conducting military drills to practice blocking U.S. forces from interfering in a potential takeover of Taiwan. A Japanese think tank confirms these exercises are specifically designed to prevent U.S. access to the waters around Taiwan using an A2AD (anti-access/area denial) strategy.-In response, the U.S. and its allies are preparing countermeasures, including training with advanced weapons like the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), which is designed to penetrate enemy defenses from long range.-While China aims to keep U.S. forces out of the first and second island chains, stand-off weapons like the JASSM could disrupt this strategy, making a full blockade of Taiwan difficult to execute.
