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CHINA’S People’s Liberation Army announced it had “successfully completed” two days of military exercises near Taiwan, concluding high-profile manoeuvres intended to assert Beijing’s sovereignty claims over the self-governing island.
AP reported today that the operations, described as “Justice Mission 2025,” have heightened regional tensions as East Asia entered the new year.
In a New Year’s Eve statement, the PLA said the exercises had “fully tested the integrated joint operations capabilities of its troops.”
Senior Capt. Li Xi, spokesperson for the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, told the Associated Press: “Always on high alert, the troops of the Theater Command will keep strengthening combat readiness with arduous training, resolutely thwart the attempts of ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatists and external intervention, and firmly safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The announcement, presented on video with martial music, provided no details on what the PLA considered a success or the exact timing of the conclusion. Earlier reports suggested drills took place on Monday and Tuesday, though it was unclear if some activity continued into Wednesday.
Taiwan remains China’s most sensitive geopolitical issue. Beijing maintains that the island is Chinese territory and has pledged to retake it by force if necessary.
The self-governing island has been separated from the mainland since 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists retreated following defeat by Mao Zedong’s Communists.
China routinely sends warplanes and naval vessels toward Taiwan, and the scale of such exercises has increased in recent years.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also referenced Taiwan in his annual New Year’s Eve address, emphasising the ties between people on both sides of the Strait.
“The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable,” Xi said, describing shared “blood and kinship.”
Regional governments have criticised the drills. Japan described the exercises as “an act that escalates tension in the Taiwan Strait” and conveyed its concerns to Beijing, reiterating that the issue should be resolved peacefully.
“The peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are important for the entire international community. Japan continues to watch the related development with strong interest,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
The United States, in mid-December, announced an arms package to Taiwan, which, if approved by Congress, would constitute the largest such aid ever supplied to the island, a move strongly condemned by China.
The Philippines also voiced concern. Defense Minister Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. said China’s actions around Taiwan undermined stability “in an already fragile geopolitical environment,” adding: “This heightened scale of coercion has implications that extend beyond cross-Strait relations and into the broader Indo-Pacific community. Basic principles of self-restraint must be observed.”
This latest display of military power is widely interpreted as a warning to “external forces” and a reminder of Beijing’s unwavering claim over Taiwan, as well as a demonstration of its growing operational capabilities in the region. - January 1, 2026