(CNN) China’s military announced Monday it was mobilizing army, navy, air and rocket units around Taiwan for “major military drills” aimed at sending a “serious warning” against any push for Taiwanese independence and “external” forces interfering with the island.
The exercises – dubbed “Justice Mission-2025” – would test combat readiness and “blockade and control of key ports and critical areas” from Monday, China’s Eastern Theater Command said. Live-fire activities would take place in five maritime and airspace zones encircling the island on Tuesday, according to information released by the command.
Taiwan’s government condemned the drills, accusing China of “military intimidation,” while its defense ministry said it was “fully on guard” and would “take concrete action to defend the values of democracy and freedom.”
Beijing has in recent years ramped up its military intimidation of the island – long seen as a potential flashpoint in a fractious region – including by simulating blockades. Analysts say that based on the military announcements, the latest drills may be more explicitly aimed at practicing how to deny foreign military access to the area.The drills announced Monday would focus on training on precision strikes, combat readiness, and “systemic” blockade and control and “deterrence outside the island chain,” according to Shi Yi, spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command, in an apparent reference to a strategic line considered key in any potential regional military conflict.
China Coast Guard also said it was launching patrols in waters around Taiwan.
As of 3 p.m. local time Monday, 14 People’s Liberation Army warships and 14 Chinese Coast Guard vessels had been detected around Taiwan and its outlying islands, according to Lt. Gen. Hsieh Jih-sheng, deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence at Taiwan’s defense ministry.
In addition, an “amphibious assault strike group” consisting of four ships was detected in the southeastern waters of Taiwan, Hsieh said, and 89 warplanes were detected in the skies around Taiwan. However, no warplanes or warships had entered Taiwan’s territorial waters or airspace so far, Hsieh said.
The military flex appears to follow a playbook Beijing has used in the past: launching major drills at sensitive moments to express its displeasure.
Washington and Taipei earlier this month announced what could become one of the United States’ biggest-ever military sales to the island, and Taiwan’s president is pushing for the approval of a historic special defense budget – developments that have irked Beijing.
Meanwhile, China and Japan have been locked in a weeks-long diplomatic spat over comments the Japanese prime minister made about Taiwan.
More than 100,000 travelers are expected to be affected by the drills, according to Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration, with 857 international flights impacted and 84 domestic flights canceled.
China’s ruling Communist Party claims the self-governing democracy of Taiwan as its own territory, despite never having controlled it, and has vowed to take control of the island, by force if necessary.
“This exercise serves as a serious warning to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and external interfering forces,” said Shi, the command spokesperson, using what appeared to be a veiled reference to the US and its allies. “(It) is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard national sovereignty and maintain national unity.”
Later Monday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang urged “relevant countries to abandon the illusion of ‘using Taiwan to contain China,’” and refrain from “challenging China’s resolve and will to defend its core interests.
In a statement, Taiwan’s presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said the drills “blatantly undermine the security and stability status quo of the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region” and “openly challenges international laws and order.”
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te champions Taiwan’s sovereignty but has not formally called for independence. He has pledged to maintain the status quo.
The landmark $11.1-billion arms deal between US and Taiwan includes HIMARS rocket systems, anti-tank and anti-armour missiles, loitering drones, howitzers and military software.
Washington recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China, but maintains close unofficial ties with Taipei, which have strengthened in recent years. It is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself and supplies it with defensive weaponry.
Beijing slammed the recent arms deal announced between the two, with its Foreign Ministry earlier this month saying the move “infringes on China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity” and “undermines peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
When asked whether the drills were in response to the US-Taiwan arms deal, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday referenced Taiwan’s governing party and said the exercises were “a severe punishment for the separatist forces seeking independence through force.”
“Their attempt to seek independence through the US, even at the cost of turning Taiwan into a powder keg, fully exposes their vicious nature as peace disruptors, troublemakers, and war instigators,” the spokesperson, Lin Jian, added.
Taiwan is seen by Beijing as the principal “red line” in US-China relations, with Chinese officials long condemning the unofficial relationship between Taipei and Washington.
Taiwan has been ramping up military purchases in recent years as it comes under increasing pressure from Beijing, with Chinese aircraft and ships present almost daily around Taiwan as well as regular large-scale exercises in and over the surrounding waters.
Parts of the latest deal, however, are expected to be paid for as part of a historic $40-billion special defense budget Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te proposed in late November. It has struggled to gain approval in Taiwan’s opposition-controlled legislature, which is locked in an acrimonious gridlock.
Regional frictions around Taiwan have also been heightened in recent weeks as Beijing has unleashed a diplomatic and economic pressure campaign on US ally Japan after its Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested her country could respond militarily if China were to move to take control of Taiwan by force.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/28/china/china-taiwan-military-drills-hnk-intl
