China launched live-fire military drills around Taiwan on Monday, saying the exercises simulated a blockade of the self-ruled island’s key ports. Taipei condemned the actions as “military intimidation,” calling the drills a threat to regional stability.
China claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has not ruled out using force to achieve unification. The latest drills come shortly after the United States, Taiwan’s main security backer, completed a major arms sale to the island.
Beijing warned that “external forces” arming Taipei could push the Taiwan Strait “into a perilous situation of imminent war,” though no countries were mentioned by name. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said any attempts to prevent China from unifying with Taiwan were “doomed to fail.”
Reporters on Pingtan, a Chinese island closest to Taiwan, observed fighter jets soaring overhead and a Chinese military vessel offshore. Tourists in the area said they were unaware of the exercises. A visitor from Inner Mongolia, surnamed Guo, said unification with Taiwan would “definitely happen. It’s just a matter of time.”
China’s military said the drills involved destroyers, frigates, fighter jets, bombers, and drones, with troops from the army, navy, air force, and rocket forces taking part. The exercises were code-named “Justice Mission 2025” and focused on sea-air combat readiness, joint operations, blockades of key ports, and all-dimensional deterrence beyond the island chain. Authorities also published a map marking five large exercise zones around Taiwan.
Taiwan’s government said several of the designated zones were within 12 nautical miles of its coast and disrupted international shipping and aviation. Presidential office spokeswoman Karen Kuo criticized China’s “disregard for international norms and the use of military intimidation to threaten neighbouring countries.”
Taiwan’s defence ministry reported detecting 89 Chinese military aircraft near its shores Monday, the highest number since October 2024. It also tracked 28 warships and coastguard vessels. Taiwan’s civil aviation administration said China had declared a “Temporary Danger Area” for ten hours, affecting more than 100,000 passengers on 857 flights, both domestic and international.
Taiwan’s military established a response centre, deployed appropriate forces, and conducted rapid response exercises, while the coastguard sent large vessels to monitor the situation. The island’s defence ministry said the drills “further confirm [China’s] nature as an aggressor, making it the greatest destroyer of peace.”
Chinese military spokesman Shi Yi described the exercises as “a stern warning against ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces, and… a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity.”
The drills come amid heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait and underscore the challenges of maintaining stability in the region amid growing military activities and international arms sales.
