China fired rockets into waters off Taiwan yesterday, showcased new assault ships and dismissed prospects of US and allied intervention to block any future attack by Beijing to take control of the island in its most extensive war games to date.
As part of drills rehearsing a blockade, China’s Eastern Theatre Command conducted 10 hours of live-fire exercises, launching rockets into waters to the north and south of the democratically governed island.
Chinese naval and air force units also simulated strikes on maritime and aerial targets and carried out anti-submarine drills around the island, while state media released images touting Beijing’s technological and military superiority and its ability to take Taiwan by force if necessary.
Named “Justice Mission 2025”, the drills began 11 days after the US announced a record $11.1 billion arms package to Taiwan, drawing the Chinese defence ministry’s ire and warnings that the military would “take forceful measures” in response.
US President Donald Trump, who said on Monday he has a “great relationship” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, has downplayed the threat of the drills, though US legislators and the European Union condemned Beijing’s actions as undermining regional peace and stability.
For the first time, China’s military said the drills were aimed at deterring outside intervention.
“Any external forces that attempt to intervene in the Taiwan issue or interfere in China’s internal affairs will surely smash their heads bloody against the iron walls of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement.
Beijing has also intensified its rhetoric over Taiwan in the weeks since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a hypothetical attack on the island could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
Xi last week promoted the commander of the Eastern Theatre Command, which oversees Taiwan-facing operations, to full general – a move which analysts say serves to shore up the military’s combat readiness after a leadership purge.
Trump on Monday said he was not worried about the drills, adding that China has carried out naval exercises around Taiwan for more than 20 years.
In contrast, John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the US House of Representatives’ select committee on China, said China’s actions represented a “deliberate escalation.”
“By rehearsing coercive military scenarios and projecting force beyond its borders, the Chinese Communist Party is seeking to reshape the regional order through aggression and intimidation,” Moolenaar said in a statement. Washington would work to “preserve Taiwan’s security,” he added.
The European Union also said it had a “direct interest in the preservation of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” adding in a statement that Beijing “endangers international peace and stability” with its latest exercises.
While Trump has repeatedly said Xi told him he will not attack Taiwan while the US president is in office – something Beijing has never confirmed – Trump’s first and second administrations have a track record of ramping up weapon sales approvals to Taiwan compared with other US administrations.
The drills this week, the sixth major round of war games since 2022, were the largest by area and the closest yet to Taiwan.
Taiwan sits alongside key commercial shipping and aviation routes, with some $2.45 trillion in trade moving through the Taiwan Strait each year and the airspace above the island a conduit between China, the world’s second-largest economy, and the fast-growing markets of East and Southeast Asia.
Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Authority said that although 11 of Taipei’s 14 flight routes were affected by the drills, no international flights had been cancelled.
Routes to the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu near China’s coast were blocked, affecting around 6,000 passengers.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said 71 Chinese military aircraft and 24 navy and coast guard vessels had been operating around the island yesterday.
The ministry added that China fired 27 rockets in Taiwan’s waters.
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