The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is currently conducting the largest military exercises China has ever held around Taiwan in retaliation against the recent U.S. approval of a massive weapons package sale to Taiwan.
On Monday, the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced that the Chinese military had launched the “Justice Mission 2025” military exercises around Taiwan. Senior Col. Shi Yi, a spokesperson for China’s Eastern Theater Command, explained that the military exercises involved deployments of fighter jets, drones, ground forces, naval ships, and artillery in seven maritime zones around Taiwan.
According to Xinhua, a Chinese state agency, Shi confirmed that China’s Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force would be conducting drills in the Taiwan Strait and in multiple areas around the island and explained that the military exercises will involve “sea-air combat readiness patrol, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, blockade on key ports and areas, as well as all-dimensional deterrence outside the island chain.”
“With vessels and aircraft approaching Taiwan Island in close proximity from different directions, troops of multiple services engage in joint assaults to test their joint operations capabilities,” Shi stated.
The Eastern Theater Command spokesperson noted that this week’s military exercises are a warning against “Taiwan Independence” forces and countries supporting Taiwan’s independence efforts.
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Fox News reported that China is expected to conduct live-fire exercises on Monday and Tuesday and that China’s danger zone designations for the live-fire exercises are closer to Taiwan than the designations have been in previous military exercises.
According to Fox News, China’s large-scale military exercises around Taiwan come less than two weeks after President Donald Trump’s administration approved a weapons package for Taiwan of approximately $11.1 billion.
In a statement obtained by Fox News, Guo Jiakun, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said, “The ‘Taiwan independence’ forces on the island seek independence through force and resist reunification through force, squandering the hard-earned money of the people to purchase weapons at the cost of turning Taiwan into a powder keg.”
“This cannot save the doomed fate of ‘Taiwan independence’ but will only accelerate the push of the Taiwan Strait toward a dangerous situation of military confrontation and war,” the spokesperson added. “The U.S. support for ‘Taiwan Independence’ through arms will only end up backfiring. Using Taiwan to contain China will not succeed.”
According to Fox News, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed that 89 Chinese military aircraft, 14 naval vessels, and 14 coast guard vessels have engaged in China’s military exercises around the island this week.
Hsieh Jih-sheng, Taiwan’s deputy chief of general staff for intelligence, warned, “Conducting live-fire exercises around the Taiwan Strait … would not only constitute military pressure on us, but could also pose more complex challenges and impacts for the international community and neighboring countries.”
