China continued its major military exercise around Taiwan with further exercises on the second day.
December 30, 2025, 04:54December 30, 2025, 04:54
As the state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the Chinese military, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Command conducted exercises north and south of the island.
A Chinese frigate in the Taiwan Strait. (archive image)Image: keystone
Among other things, operations against sea targets as well as anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare were practiced, it was said. Destroyers, frigates as well as fighter and bomber aircraft were used. The military also carried out shooting exercises with live ammunition.
Large number of Chinese aircraft and drones
According to the Ministry of Defense in Taipei, 130 missions by Chinese military aircraft and drones were registered around the island within one day by Tuesday morning. This is the second highest value for such a period. Only in October 2024 were more activities recorded during the “Joint Sword 2024B” maneuver with 153 flights.
In addition, Taiwan registered 14 Chinese warships, eight other state-owned ships and one high-altitude balloon.
China began the exercise on Monday under the code name “Mission Justice 2025”. Beijing described the exercises as a “serious warning” to “separatist forces”.
The maneuver follows a commitment to US arms deliveries
Since 2022, China has held several large military exercises of this type around Taiwan. Observers also see the current maneuver as a reaction to arms deliveries to Taiwan recently approved by the USA. At the same time, tensions with Japan recently increased after the government in Tokyo declared that Taiwan’s security was closely linked to the security of Japan and the region.
China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory, although the island has a democratically elected government independent of Beijing. The People’s Republic wants to annex Taiwan and is threatening to use the military if this does not happen peacefully. (sda/dpa)