China is conducting military exercises around Taiwan, seizing and blockading key areas on the island as part of a warning against ‘separatist forces’.
The Chinese military announced that the army, navy, air force, and rocket units were dispatched to this exercise, which included live-fire training.
The exercise, codenamed “Justice Mission 2025”, comes days after the United States announced the sale of one of its largest arms packages worth $11 billion (£8.2 billion) to Taiwan. The move drew sharp protests from China, which eventually imposed sanctions on U.S. defense companies.
Taiwan’s push this year to strengthen its defense capabilities has angered China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office condemned the upcoming Chinese exercises as a challenge to international norms.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said on Monday morning that it had detected Chinese aircraft and ships around the island and was deploying its own troops and missile systems to monitor the situation. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said its military was on “high alert” to defend Taiwan and “protect our people.”
The Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command, which oversees the Taiwan Strait, described this military exercise as a ‘shield of justice’ in a post on Weibo.
“All those seeking independence will be annihilated when they meet the shield!” I read your post.
While some initial training has begun, the military said it will conduct large-scale training from 08:00 to 18:00 local time on Tuesday.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the drills “a severe punishment for separatist forces seeking independence through force” and warned “external forces to use Taiwan to keep China in check.”
“Any evil plan to disrupt Chinese unification is doomed to fail,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing on Monday.
China has long advocated ‘peaceful unification’ with Taiwan, but it also has laws that say it will use ‘non-peaceful means’ to prevent Taiwan’s ‘secession’.
China accused Taiwanese President Lai Ching-de of seeking ‘Taiwan independence.’ The president argued that there was no need to formally declare independence because Taiwan was already a sovereign nation.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Lai said in a local TV interview that Taiwan “must continue to raise the difficulty so that (China) can never meet the criteria for aggression.”
He also said his administration was committed to “maintaining the status quo” and would not provoke China. But he added that peace depends on “real strength.”
Opinion polls show that most Taiwanese want the ‘status quo’. In other words, Taiwanese do not want unification with China or a formal declaration of independence.
Starting in 2022, China has stepped up military exercises in the Taiwan Strait in response to what it sees as threats, including former US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in 2022 and Prime Minister Lai’s inauguration in 2024.
At the time, the People’s Liberation Army said China’s last live-fire exercise in the Taiwan Strait in April involved mock attacks on major ports and energy facilities. Along with the training, the Chinese military released a series of cartoons depicting Lai as a ‘parasite’.
This week’s military training is the first to be conducted under the new Eastern Theater Commander Yang Zhibin, who took office last October.
Taiwan is conducting its own military exercises to prepare for attack and demonstrate its defense capabilities against China. This year’s Hangwang exercise, which took place over 10 days, is the largest and longest exercise ever.
Since taking office, Prime Minister Lai has pledged to increase defense spending and strengthen the island’s defense capabilities amid rising tensions with China.
Last October, Taiwan’s president announced the creation of a dome-shaped air defense system to defend against “hostile threats,” but did not explicitly mention China.
The Chinese military said this week’s exercises in the Taiwan Strait would be aimed at deterrence “outside the island chain.”
Relations between China and Japan have deteriorated to their worst in years since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in response to a parliamentary question last month that Japan’s Self-Defense Forces could intervene if China attacks Taiwan.
China expressed fierce protest and issued a warning to its citizens not to travel to Japan. Earlier this month, Japan protested after Chinese warplanes locked radar on a Japanese aircraft, while China accused Japan of “harassing” its troops during exercises.
