This Tuesday (30), local time, China carried out 10 hours of live-fire exercises around Taiwan, on the second day of the largest war exercises ever conducted by Beijing around the island, with the aim of quickly severing its links with external support in the event of a conflict.
The Eastern Theater Command said the exercises would take place until 6pm local time in the sea and airspace of five areas around the island, demonstrating the Chinese military’s determination to “combat separatism and promote unification without hesitation.”
On Monday (29), the Chinese Maritime Security Administration designated two other zones where there would be live firing, making the “Mission Justice 2025” exercises the largest so far in terms of total area covered and carried out in regions closer to Taiwan than previous maneuvers.
The attacks began 11 days after the United States announced a record $11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan, drawing ire from the Chinese Defense Ministry and warnings that the military would “take strong action” in response.
The exercises — dating back to 2022, when then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the democratically governed island — are aimed at rehearsing a quick siege of Taiwan to destroy its weapons stockpiles and impede resupply efforts from Japan or nearby U.S. bases, according to analysts.
“This constitutes a blatant provocation of the international situation,” said a senior Taiwanese security official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. “As one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes, they seek to reshape the international order according to their own agenda.”
The official said Taipei is closely monitoring whether China will seek “new provocations” in Tuesday’s drills, including missile flyovers over Taiwan, in a similar way to China’s 2022 drills.
“China is trying to advance its assertion of dominance over the entire island chain through extreme pressure tactics in a variety of ways,” the official said.
The Chinese military said it had mobilized destroyers, bombers and other units on Tuesday to train attacks from the sea, air defense and anti-submarine operations, in order to “test the ability of naval and air forces to coordinate actions for integrated containment and control”.
Taiwan rejects China’s claim to sovereignty and maintains that only its people can decide the island’s future.
