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Orange Wang

Yuanyue Dang

Sylvie Zhuang

The People’s Liberation Army mobilised stealth fighters, destroyers and missile launchers on the first day of live-fire drills around Taiwan, soon after Washington approved the largest-ever arms sale to Taiwan.
Senior Colonel Shi Yi, a spokesman for the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command, said on Monday that the exercise was a warning to “independence forces” and against external interference.
He said the drills – dubbed Justice Mission 2025 – were taking place in waters and airspace in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan’s main island.
Shi said the exercise was being conducted by Eastern Theatre Command troops from the army, navy, air force and rocket force.
“It is a stern warning against ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity,” Shi said.




Footage released by state broadcaster CCTV showed various PLA Navy warships, including Type 054A frigates and Type 052D guided-missile destroyers, conducting live-fire drills in the areas.
In line with previous exercises, mainland Chinese coastguard vessels were also deployed during Monday’s drills, approaching Taiwan from the north, southwest and east, with several ships visible off the eastern coast, as well as the outlying islands of Matsu and Wuqiu.
Song Zhongping, a former PLA instructor and military commentator, said the footage also showed J-20 fifth-generation stealth fighters and J-16 fighter jets alongside KJ-500 early warning aircraft.
“These are all mature weapon systems,” Song said, adding that the aircraft were seen practising a blockade tactic to “encircle strongholds and strike reinforcements”.


Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China, to be reunited by force if necessary.
Most countries, including the US and Japan, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
On Monday, when asked about the drill, Lin Jian, a spokesman with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hit out at Washington’s recently approved arms sales to Taiwan.
“External forces using Taiwan to contain China and arming Taiwan would only embolden ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists and push the Taiwan Strait towards danger,” Lin said.
Meanwhile, Major General Meng Xiangqing, who specialises in national security at the PLA’s National Defence University, told China Military Bugle, a social media account run by the PLA’s media centre, that the PLA had “plenty of strategic options to punish independence forces in Taiwan and to deter the US”.
“And they can turn the exercise into a war at any time.”
Meng said the drills were being conducted in areas that were vital to key supplies such as energy and civilian transport routes. They put pressure on Keelung Port in the north and Kaohsiung on the south, home to the island’s largest naval base at Zuoying.
In Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defence condemned the drill and said it was carrying out “rapid response exercises”.


The drills come less than a fortnight afterthe US State Department announced that it had approved a US$11.1 billion weapons package for Taiwan – reportedly the largest in the island’s history.
Beijing described the sale – which still needs to be approved by the US Congress – as “flagrant interference in China’s internal affairs”.
The package includes US$4 billion for 82 High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or Himars, and US$4 billion for 60 self-propelled howitzers. It also includes “tactical mission” software, Javelin anti-tank missiles, helicopter parts and kits to refurbish Harpoon anti-ship missiles worth a combined US$3 billion.
In an unusual move on Monday, the PLA targeted US-made weapons, with the CCTV footage showing an H6-K bomber taking off with two YJ-12 supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, arms that are designed to deter aircraft carriers. The bomber was heading to the east of Taiwan to “targets beyond the first island chain”.
In other footage, PLA officers simulated a strike against a US-made Himars launcher.

The PLA drills are the second large-scale war games to be held near Taiwan this year. The PLA also conducted a large-scale exercise in April, soon after Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te described mainland China as a “hostile force” and announced a series of security measures, including reinstating a military court system in Taiwan.
Zhang Chi, a professor at the National Defence University, told CCTV that the key term for this exercise was “decapitation”, meaning “simulating strikes against key symbolic targets of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist leaders”.
“The PLA possesses formidable capabilities to precisely sanction the principal instigators of ‘Taiwan independence’ at any time,” Zhang said.
The island’s opposition leader, Cheng Li-wun, hit out at Lai during a radio interview on Monday, saying he had been “continuously provoking [Beijing] and crossing red lines” and that this could “only lead to a dead end, dragging down all 23 million people across Taiwan”.


Taiwanese navy lieutenant commander Lu Li-shih said the exercises would also have implications for Tokyo and would be seen as a warning to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi over her position on Taiwan.
On November 7, Takaichi said that the use of force against Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation”, a scenario permitting Tokyo to deploy its military forces, prompting multiple protests from Beijing.
Lu also said that Monday’s exercise was the first time since 2022 that the PLA had explicitly designated the latitudes and longitudes of the drill zones.
“The purpose is to notify aircraft and commercial and fishing vessels at sea to clear the area, implying they may genuinely employ missiles for attack,” Lu said.
He said the missile most likely to be deployed was the DF-15B, the model shown in one of the CCTV videos.
In addition, the exercises were a direct response to remarks made by Lai during an interview with Taiwan’s Sanlih E-Television on Sunday, according to Lu.
Lai said that in confronting Beijing’s threats, Taiwan’s “only option” was to continuously strengthen its defences and advance “international cooperation”.
The drill will continue on Tuesday.


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China

Military

Military says it is conducting exercise across five areas near the self-governed island


Military says it is conducting exercise across five areas near the self-governed island.


China’s military

PLA deploys fighters and destroyers in live-fire drill around Taiwan in wake of US arms deal

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Military says it is conducting exercise across five areas near the self-governed island

Military says it is conducting exercise across five areas near the self-governed island