China Conducts Largest Military Drills Around Taiwan yet US Unfazed
In late December 2025, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched a surprise attack simulation involving live missile launches into the Taiwan Strait as part of extensive military drills named Justice Mission 2025. The exercises, which continued through December 30, featured deployments of destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers, drones, and long-range missiles near Taiwan, aimed at testing sea-air coordination, precise targeting, and conducting anti-submarine and maritime-targeting operations, including a simulated blockade of major ports.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defence reported that impact sites from the drills were scattered within the island's 24 nautical mile zone. Defence Minister Wellington Koo criticized the drills for disregarding international norms and described them as an act of cognitive warfare intended to degrade Taiwan's combat capabilities.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te condemned the exercises as irresponsible actions by China, affirming Taiwan's commitment to defend its sovereignty without escalating the conflict. Taiwanese officials also warned against external interference, emphasizing that any such involvement would be repelled.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump stated he was not worried by the drills, highlighting a good relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who had not informed him about the drills. Trump suggested he does not expect an invasion of Taiwan. Chinese officials contextualized the drills by pointing to a record $11 billion in US arms sales to Taiwan and emphasized reunification as an ongoing trajectory. State media framed the military exercises as a reminder of China’s goals regarding Taiwan.
These drills mark the sixth and largest such exercise since 2022, intended to test responses to external interference and reinforce Beijing’s territorial claims over Taiwan. The regional situation remains tense, with potential implications involving US and Japanese responses in the event of escalating conflict.
