China Launches Extensive Live-Fire Military Drills Around Taiwan Amid Rising Tensions
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has commenced large-scale live-fire military drills around Taiwan, named 'Justice Mission 2025'. The exercises simulate a blockade of major ports, attacks on maritime targets, and measures against international interference.
The drills involve multiple branches of the PLA including the Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, and Coast Guard. The deployed assets encompass destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers, drones, and long-range missiles. Notably, four amphibious assault ships have been spotted approximately 160 nautical miles west of Taiwan's southern tip.
Taiwan's defence ministry reported the presence of 28 navy and coastguard ships in surrounding waters, with two vessels entering Taiwan's contiguous zone. Additionally, at least 89 warplanes were observed—the largest daily tally in more than a year.
PLA theatre command spokesperson Shi Yi described the drills as a stern warning against Taiwan independence and external interference, while the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian cautioned external parties against pushing the region towards war. The Chinese defence ministry urged 'relevant countries', a coded reference to the United States, to abandon any illusion of using Taiwan to contain China.
These drills follow US arms sales to Taiwan reported to be valued around $11 billion. PLA-linked commentator Fu Zhengnan characterized the military action as justified, legal, and a forced response to US-Taiwan provocation.
In response, Taiwan strongly condemned the drills and carried out counter-readiness exercises, emphasizing that defending democracy and freedom does not constitute provocation.
The current drills cover a larger area than previous exercises, with some warning zones overlapping Taiwan's 12-nautical-mile territorial border. The operations affected more than 100,000 passengers across 850 flights on Tuesday.
Justice Mission 2025 marks the sixth major PLA exercise targeting Taiwan since 2022. Analysts suggest Beijing is demonstrating enhanced anti-access/area denial capabilities while closely monitoring reactions from the United States and Japan.
