The People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched a large-scale military exercise called "Justice Mission 2025" around Taiwan on Monday (December 29), encompassing the navy, air force, army, and rocket forces. This is the sixth such exercise around Taiwan since 2022. The timing of the exercise is sensitive, occurring after the United States announced its largest arms sale to Taiwan, triggering renewed tensions in the region. Taiwan emphasized its commitment to upholding democratic values and conducting rapid response drills to deal with any potential threats.
Exercises escalate: China surrounds Taiwan from five sides and announces live-fire drills.
China's Eastern Theater Command announced that the military exercise will enter the live-fire phase on Tuesday (December 30th) and released a map of the exercise area, showing that the area surrounding Taiwan is divided into five zones. Air and sea airspace will be under control for 10 hours starting at 8:00 AM that day. Participating forces include fighter jets, bombers, drones, and long-range rockets. The exercise will simulate a joint strike against Taiwan from multiple directions, targeting moving ground targets.
Eastern Theater Command spokesperson Shih Yi stated that this military exercise is a "serious warning to Taiwan independence separatist forces and external interference forces."
Arms sales anger Beijing; $11 billion US arms sale to Taiwan becomes the trigger.
This military exercise comes just 11 days after the US announced a massive $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan, the largest arms deal to date. China's Ministry of National Defense strongly protested and warned of "forceful countermeasures." It is widely believed that this exercise is a direct response to the arms sale and a test of the responsiveness of Taiwan and the US.
Some analysts point out that the line between Chinese military exercises and actual combat deployments is becoming increasingly blurred, and in the future, exercises may be used as cover for surprise attacks, catching the United States and its allies off guard.
Taiwan emphasizes democratic self-determination; military on high alert conducts rapid response drills.
Taiwan's Presidential Office strongly condemned China's military exercises and called on Beijing not to misjudge the situation or undermine regional peace. The Ministry of National Defense stated that two Chinese military aircraft and 11 warships are currently operating around Taiwan, and the Taiwanese military has raised its combat readiness and is conducting "rapid response drills" to prevent a Chinese surprise attack from escalating into a full-scale assault.
"All military personnel will remain highly vigilant and prepared, and take concrete actions to defend the values of democracy and freedom," the Ministry of National Defense emphasized.
According to senior security officials, several Chinese warships and aircraft deliberately approached Taiwan's 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone. Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration also dispatched large vessels to respond to the unusual movements of the Chinese Coast Guard and worked with the military to reduce the impact on shipping and fisheries.
The CCP's propaganda has been upgraded across the board: targeting port blockades and psychological warfare.
Chinese state media displayed three military exercise posters with strong political symbolism, including "Shield of Justice: Breaking Limits and Eliminating Delusion" and "Arrow of Justice: Internal Control and External Destruction." One of the images shows Taiwan being targeted by military equipment in various locations. The exercise also targeted Keelung and Kaohsiung ports, signaling an intention to simulate the blockade of Taiwan's two major strategic ports. This is also the first time the CCP has explicitly stated that the purpose of the military exercise is to "deter external military intervention." Observers believe this is not merely military intimidation, but a complex operation combining information warfare and psychological warfare.
As China's discontent with Japan rises, Taiwanese people respond calmly.
This exercise is also seen as a response to recent remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who stated that Japan might militarily intervene if China attacks Taiwan. China subsequently retaliated strongly on both diplomatic and military fronts, reiterating its position that "Taiwan belongs to China since World War II." However, the Taiwanese public has largely remained calm. A Taipei teacher commented, "I think these exercises are just meant to scare us. This isn't the first time this has happened; political issues still need to be handled by the government."
Taiwanese public morale remains stable and the market has not been affected by fluctuations.
Despite the escalating regional tensions caused by the military exercises, the Taiwan stock market was not significantly affected, rising 0.6% in early trading on Monday to a record high. This indicates that investors still maintain a certain level of confidence in the regional situation. Ms. Huang, a 56-year-old interior designer, said, "Their goal is to assert sovereignty, but we don't agree with that. Taiwan is Taiwan, and China is China."
This article, titled "China Launches 'Justice Mission 2025' Military Exercise to Encircle Taiwan, Taiwan on Alert and Response, Emphasizing the Defense of Democracy," first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
