China launches live-fire drills around Taiwan after U.S. arms sale, warns against “external” interference
China has begun live-fire military exercises around Taiwan, hours after announcing “major” joint drills in surrounding waters and airspace, as Beijing steps up pressure on the self-governed island and warns foreign backers to stay out.
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The People’s Liberation Army said it is deploying destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles for exercises that include live-fire training on maritime targets to the north and southwest of Taiwan. The operation, code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” brings together army, navy, air force and rocket force units to conduct what the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command called “joint assaults” to test integrated operations.
A statement from the command’s spokesman, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, described the drills as a “stern warning against ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces” and “a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity.” Plans involve vessels approaching Taiwan “in close proximity from different directions” and focus on sea-air combat readiness, seizure of “comprehensive superiority,” blockades on key ports and areas, and “all-dimensional deterrence outside the island chain,” according to the PLA.
Taiwan’s authorities said they detected four Chinese coast guard ships sailing near waters off the island’s northern and eastern coasts as the drills began. The Taiwanese coast guard said it immediately deployed large vessels to pre-position responses and sent additional support units. Taiwan’s military said it had established a response center, deployed “appropriate forces” and carried out a rapid response exercise.
Taipei condemned Beijing’s moves. China’s ruling Communist Party, Taiwan’s defense ministry said, “further confirm[s] its nature as an aggressor, making it the greatest destroyer of peace.” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo accused Beijing of showing “disregard for international norms and the use of military intimidation to threaten neighbouring countries.”
The exercises follow a fresh round of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan — its main security backer — that Taiwan said was approved at an estimated $11 billion. Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has not ruled out using force to seize the island, has promised “resolute and forceful measures” in response. China last week announced sanctions on 20 American defense companies, though those firms appeared to have little or no business in China.
China’s foreign ministry reiterated its position against foreign involvement during a regular briefing, warning “external forces” backing Taiwan that attempts to obstruct unification with the mainland would fail. The United States previously called similar PLA maneuvers “intimidation tactics,” while Britain warned such drills risk “dangerous escalation.”
Beijing last held large-scale live-fire drills around Taiwan in April, part of a pattern of elevated military pressure that has included encirclement exercises, record numbers of PLA aircraft crossing the island’s air defense identification zone and stepped-up operations by China’s coast guard. The latest show of force, explicitly highlighting blockade tactics and multi-domain coordination, underscores a scenario long cited by defense planners in Taipei and Washington.
Regional tensions have also ensnared Japan. Last month, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing after saying that the use of force against Taiwan could warrant a military response from Tokyo. China demanded a retraction, summoned Japan’s ambassador and warned Chinese citizens against traveling to Japan.
The island of 23 million operates as a vibrant democracy with its own military and institutions. Beijing insists Taiwan is a domestic matter, while Taipei says only its people can decide the island’s future. As both sides harden their positions — and as outside actors weigh in — the risk of miscalculation around Taiwan’s increasingly crowded air and sea lanes continues to grow.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
