Image used for representational purposes only. File
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U.S. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao. File
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President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, on May 15, 2026, at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing.
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Taiwan President Lai Ching-te. File
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Cheng Li-wun, chairperson of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest Ppposition party, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on April 10, 2026, in this screengrab from a video provided by CTI. Photo: CTI via REUTERS TV

For a second day, China’s military on Tuesday (December 30, 2025) dispatched air, navy and missile units to conduct joint live-fire drills around the island of Taiwan, which Beijing called a “stern warning” against separatist and “external interference” forces.

Taiwan said it was placing forces on alert and called the Chinese government “the biggest destroyer of peace.”

Taiwan’s aviation authority said more than 1,00,000 international air travelers would be affected by flight cancellations or diversions.

The two days of drills — dubbed “Justice Mission 2025” — came after Beijing expressed outrage at what could be the largest-ever U.S. arms sale to the self-ruled territory, and at a statement by Japan’s Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, saying its military could get involved if China takes action against Taiwan. China says Taiwan must come under its rule.

China’s military did not mention the United States and Japan in its statement on Monday (December 29), but Beijing’s foreign ministry accused Taiwan’s ruling party of trying to seek independence through requesting U.S. support.

And on Tuesday (December 30) morning, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted a government spokesperson saying that any efforts to that end would be “doomed.”

“We urge relevant countries to abandon the illusion of using Taiwan to contain China, and to refrain from challenging China’s resolve in safeguarding its core interests,” said Zhang Xiaogang of China’s Defense Ministry.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said rapid response exercises were underway, with forces on high alert. “The Chinese Communist Party’s targeted military exercises further confirm its nature as an aggressor and the biggest destroyer of peace,” it said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday (December 29) that he was not informed of the military exercise in advance but that he was not worried because China has been “doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area.”

Touting his “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Mr. Trump suggested he didn’t think Xi was going to attack Taiwan.

Drills are not uncommon

Beijing sends warplanes and navy vessels toward the island on a near-daily basis, and in recent years it has stepped up the scope and scale of the exercises.

Senior Col. Shi Yi, spokesperson of China’s People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, said the drills would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, southwest, southeast and east of the island.

Mr. Shi said activities would focus on sea-air combat readiness patrol, “joint seizure of comprehensive superiority” and blockades on key ports. It was the first large-scale military drill where the command publicly mentioned one goal was “all-dimensional deterrence outside the island chain.”

“It is a stern warning against Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and external interference forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity,” he added.

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when a civil war brought the Communist Party to power in Beijing. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan. The island has operated since then with its own government, though the mainland’s government claims it as sovereign territory.

Capabilities are tested

China’s command on Monday (December 29) deployed destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles, alongside long-range rockets, to the north and southwest of the Taiwan Strait. It carried out live-fire exercises against targets in the waters. Among other training, drills to test the capabilities of sea-air coordination and precise target hunting were conducted in the waters and airspace to the east of the strait.

Hsieh Jih-sheng, deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence of the Taiwanese Defense Ministry, said that as of 3 p.m. Monday, 89 aircraft and drones were operating around the strait, with 67 of them entering the “response zone” — airspace under the force’s monitoring and response. The ministry detected 14 navy ships around the strait and four other warships in the Western Pacific, in addition to 14 coast guard vessels.

“Conducting live-fire exercises around the Taiwan Strait … does not only mean military pressure on us. It may bring more complex impact and challenges to the international community and neighboring countries,” Mr. Hsieh told reporters.

Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration said Chinese authorities had issued a notice saying seven temporary dangerous zones would be set up around the strait to carry out rocket-firing exercises from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., barring aircraft from entering them.

The Taiwanese aviation authority said more than 850 international flights were initially scheduled during that period and the drills would affect over 100,000 travelers. Over 80 domestic flights, involving around 6,000 passengers, were also canceled, it added.

Commercial airlines began to announce dozens of cancellations and delays for domestic routes across Taiwan, particularly ones along islands near China.

The Chinese command released themed posters about the drills online accompanied by provocative wording. One depicted two shields with the Great Wall alongside three military aircraft and two ships. Its social media post said the drills were about the “Shield of Justice, Smashing Illusion,” adding that any foreign interlopers or separatists touching the shields would be eliminated.

Last week, Beijing imposed sanctions against 20 U.S. defense-related companies and 10 executives, a week after Washington announced large-scale arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion. It still requires approval by the U.S. Congress.

Under U.S. federal law in place for many years, Washington is obligated to assist Taipei with its defense, a point that has become increasingly contentious with China. The U.S. and Taiwan had formal diplomatic relations until 1979, when President Jimmy Carter’s administration recognized and established relations with Beijing.

Taiwanese army on high alert

Karen Kuo, spokesperson for the Taiwanese president’s office, said the drills were undermining the stability and security of the Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific region and openly challenging international law and order.

“Our country strongly condemns the Chinese authorities for disregarding international norms and using military intimidation to threaten neighboring countries.” she said.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry released a video that featured its weapons and forces in a show of resilience. Multiple French Mirage-2000 aircraft conducted landings at an air force base.

In October, the Taiwanese government said it would accelerate the building of a “Taiwan Shield” or “T-Dome” air defense system in the face of the military threat from China.

The military tensions came a day after Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an said he hoped the Taiwan Strait would be associated with peace and prosperity, instead of “crashing waves and howling winds,” during a trip to Shanghai.

Washington DC:

China’s naval deployments in the East China Sea and South China Sea are elevated but consistent with other large exercises in the past, a U.S. military official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The assessment contrasted with statements from Taiwan that described the deployments as the largest in nearly three decades.

“The PRC military activity is elevated in the region, consistent with levels we have seen during other large exercises,” the official said, using the country’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

China’s military has yet to comment and has not confirmed it is carrying out any exercises.

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory over the island’s rejection, had been expected to launch drills to express its anger at President Lai Ching-te’s tour of the Pacific that ended on Friday, which included stopovers in Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam.

But the U.S. official did not link the deployments to Lai’s travels.

“We do not see the activity in the East China Sea and South China Sea as a response to President Lai’s transit,” the official said.

“This activity is part of a broader increase in the PLA’s military posture and military exercises over the last several years. These activities are destabilizing and risk escalation.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Beijing:

China will take “countermeasures” to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the government said, lambasting a $2 billion arms sale package by the United States to Taiwan.

The United States is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing.

On Friday, the Pentagon said the United States had approved a potential $2 billion arms sale package to Taiwan, including the delivery for the first time to the island of an advanced air defence missile system battle-tested in Ukraine.

In a statement late Saturday, China’s foreign ministry said it strongly condemns and firmly opposes the sales and has lodged “solemn representations” with the United States.

China urges the United States to immediately stop arming Taiwan and stop its dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, it added.

“China will take resolute countermeasures and take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” the ministry said, without elaborating.

China has over the past five years stepped up its military activities around democratically governed Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, including staging a new round of war games earlier this month.

Taiwan’s government has welcomed the new arms sale, the 17th of the Biden administration to the island.

“In the face of China’s threats, Taiwan is duty-bound to protect its homeland, and will continue to demonstrate its determination to defend itself,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said, responding to the arms sale.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Taipei:

Taipei said Wednesday it had detected a Chinese aircraft carrier group sailing towards waters separating Taiwan and China, a day after Beijing held a live-fire exercise near the self-ruled island.

China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and has ramped up military activity around the island in recent years to pressure Taipei into accepting its claims of sovereignty.

The Liaoning aircraft carrier group was spotted overnight in waters near the Taipei-administered Pratas Islands, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) southwest of Taiwan, and heading north towards the sensitive Taiwan Strait.  

Chinese navy vessels “led by the aircraft carrier Liaoning, sailed through waters near Dongsha (the Pratas Islands) and continued northward toward the Taiwan Strait,” Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement on the social media platform X.

Taiwan’s military “monitored the situation and responded accordingly”, the ministry said.

The Liaoning took part in China’s large-scale military drills around Taiwan last week that were condemned by Taipei and its key backer Washington.

China sent a record number of fighter jets as well as warships to encircle Taiwan in what Beijing said was a “stern warning to the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan Independence’ forces”.

That was followed by an announcement that China would hold a live-fire exercise on Tuesday in an area about 105 kilometres from Taiwan.

Over the weekend, a US and a Canadian warship passed through the 180-kilometre Taiwan Strait, part of regular passages by Washington and its allies meant to reinforce its status as an international waterway.

Beijing condemned the passage as disrupting “peace and stability” in the strait.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

File picture of China’s President Xi Jinping.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

China’s President Xi Jinping made a rare visit to a province facing Taiwan following military exercises that mobilised China’s navy, air force, missile force and land troops to simulate a blockade of the self-governing island democracy that Beijing claims as its own territory and threatens to annex by force.

Mr. Xi did not comment on the military exercises during his visit to Fujian province, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, but his visit came on the heels of China’s dispatch of a record 125 aircraft, as well as its Liaoning aircraft carrier and ships, in large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands Monday.

Mr. Xi has largely avoided public appearances and foreign travel over the past year, but bringing Taiwan under Beijing’s control remains a priority for his administration as head of the ruling Communist Party and its military, the People’s Liberation Army.

Taiwan’s newly elected president Lai Ching-te has been vociferously criticized by Beijing for rejecting its position that Tawian is a part of China.

The drills came four days after Taiwan celebrated the founding of its government on its National Day, when Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said in a speech that China has no right to represent Taiwan and declared his commitment to “resist annexation or encroachment.”

Taiwan was a Japanese colony before being unified with China at the end of World War II. It split away in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fled to the island as Mao Zedong’s Communists defeated them in a civil war and took power.