Yeah, that map says it all. If they maintain those positions, aren't they coming very close to imposing a blockade on the Kaohsiung harbor? I'm not sure what the shipping routes are. They'd be easy enough to find. If you look at https://www.marinetraffic.com, it looks like a complete clusterfuck out there. Does that map demarcate no go zones for ships? I don't see how that will work.

So it will be interesting to see what happens. But you're right. They have to do something substantial just to save face and maintain status at home. I'm thinking these war games may go on and the positions held. That could put pressure on Taiwan to respond militarily, and if Taiwan takes that bait, well, let the games begin on the next level.

I can see them using the interruption of shipping under the guise of war games as a tool, or outright stopping vessels in the South China Sea, which they claim in its entirety, because they are suspected of shipping contraband, weapons, whatever, it doesn't really matter. They're just going to fuck with Taiwan now on a more intense, in-your-face scale.

They can do all kinds of shit. All they have to do is get Taiwan to fire the first shot, and Taiwan won't, so they can press really, really close and hard. They've only just begun to test the limits, I'm guessing.