China Stages New Round of Military Drills Encircling Taiwan

Taipei criticized Beijing for what it called ‘irresponsible provocations’ that undermine regional peace and stability.

Smoke rises from a weapon on a ship after it was fired during drills east of Taiwan, in this screenshot from a video released by the Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Dec. 29, 2025. Eastern Theatre Command/Handout via Reuters

TAIPEI, Taiwan—The Chinese communist regime launched a new round of military exercises encircling Taiwan on Dec. 29, less than two weeks after Washington announced a record $11.1 billion in arms sales to the island.

The Eastern Theater Command conducted drills across waters and airspace in the Taiwan Strait and north, east, southwest, and southeast of Taiwan. It deployed destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers, unmanned aerial vehicles, amphibious assault ships, and long-range rockets for live firing and simulated strikes against maritime and mobile ground targets.

The drills also included anti-submarine operations, blockade of Taiwan’s main ports, neutralization of targets in the airspace, and long-distance raids, according to the command. 

The live-firing exercises will continue on Dec. 30, China’s Maritime Safety Administration announced, marking the largest drills to date in terms of coverage and bringing the exercises closer to Taiwan than before. The Chinese military had initially planned the drills in five zones around the island.

Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command, said the drills—dubbed “Justice Mission 2025”—were meant to serve as a “serious warning” against what he described as “Taiwan Independence” separatist forces.

This marks the Chinese regime’s sixth major round of war games since 2022, after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. It also underscores the regime’s escalating military coercion against Taiwan under the administration of President Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has repeatedly labeled as a “separatist” because of his outspoken defense of the island’s sovereignty.

For instance, China launched what it called “Joint Sword-2024A” drills encircling Taiwan in May 2024, just days after Lai’s inauguration speech, in which he said that Taiwan and China “are not subordinate to each other.”

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to seize the island through military action. Taiwan has rejected its communist neighbor’s territorial claim and is a de facto independent nation with its own military, constitution, and democratically elected government.

China’s state-run media said the drills would focus on sealing off Taiwan’s largest port city of Kaohsiung in the south and the deep-water Port of Keelung in the north.

The Dec. 29 drills come amid heightened regional tension, as the Chinese regime has been applying economic pressure and engaging in military coercive tactics against Japan since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan on Nov. 7. That day, Takaichi told parliamentarians that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan and could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

Taiwan

The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense held a press conference late in the afternoon of Dec. 29 on China’s military drills. It stated that by 3 p.m. local time, it had detected near Taiwan 89 Chinese military aircraft, including drones, along with 28 warships and coast guard vessels, as well as a Chinese amphibious assault formation consisting of four ships.

In response to China’s military drills, Taiwan’s military went on high alert and conducted “rapid response exercises,” according to the defense ministry.

The Lai administration condemned the drills.

Taiwanese Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo called on Beijing to immediately halt what she described as “irresponsible provocations” and refrain from becoming a “troublemaker that undermines regional peace,” according to a statement.

“China’s actions not only violently undermine the security and stability of the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, but also constitute a blatant challenge to international law and the international order,” Kuo said.

In an X post, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry criticized the CCP over its latest military maneuvers.

“We condemn the CCP’s threat to regional & global peace, stability &  prosperity & will meet it with preparedness, alongside our democratic partners,” the foreign ministry stated.

The Taiwanese Coast Guard Administration announced that it had dispatched large vessels after detecting four Chinese coast guard ships operating in the island’s northern and eastern waters, according to a statement issued on Dec. 29.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Transportation and Communications said in a statement that more than 100,000 passengers on scheduled international flights will be affected by the continuation of the drills on Dec. 30, while 84 domestic flights are set to be canceled, affecting about 6,000 passengers.

The United States’ $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan, announced by the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Dec. 17, included defensive equipment such as High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, self-propelled howitzers, two different Altius loitering munition drones, Javelin anti-tank missiles, and anti-armor missiles.

Some members of Congress have welcomed the massive U.S. arms sale to Taiwan.

Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Pentagon for “making sure Taiwan has the tools necessary to deter threats from China,” according to a Dec. 19 post on X.

“I support [President Donald Trump’s] decision to send a large quantity of weapons to Taiwan now. We want to deter China from ever invading. China needs to realize an invasion will be costly and will likely fail,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, wrote on X on Dec. 21.

The Chinese regime dispatches warplanes and navy vessels toward areas near Taiwan on a near-daily basis. In the 24 hours just before the start of China’s Dec. 29 drills, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry reported that it had spotted two sorties of Chinese military aircraft, nine naval ships, and two Chinese official ships near Taiwan.

Reuters contributed to this report.