China to hold military drills around Taiwan as warning to ‘separatist forces’

China has announced it will hold military exercises around Taiwan simulating the seizure and blockade of key parts of the island as a warning against “separatist forces”.

The Chinese military said it would send its army, navy, air force and rocket forces for live-fire exercises planned for Tuesday.

The exercises, codenamed “Justice Mission 2025”, come days after the US announced the sale of one of its largest arms packages worth $11bn (£8.2bn) to Taiwan. This move sparked a harsh reaction from Beijing, which imposed sanctions on US defense companies.

Taiwan’s push to beef up its defenses this year has also angered Beijing, which claims the autonomous island as its own territory.

Taiwan’s presidential office criticized the upcoming Chinese drills, saying they were a defiance of international norms.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said it detected Chinese aircraft and ships around Taiwan on Monday morning and deployed its own forces and missile systems to monitor the situation. The ministry said its forces were on “high alert” to defend Taiwan and “protect our people.”

The Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command, which is responsible for the Taiwan Strait, described the upcoming military exercise as a “shield of justice” in a post on Weibo.

“All those making plans for independence will be destroyed when they encounter the shield!” The article was read.

Although China has long called for “peaceful unification” with Taiwan, it also has a law stating that it will use “non-peaceful means” to prevent the island’s “separation”.

Beijing accused Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te of pursuing “Taiwan independence”. The president argues that Taiwan is already a sovereign nation and therefore does not need to formally declare independence.

On Sunday, Lai said in a local television interview that Taiwan must “continue to step up the challenge.” [China] can never meet the standard of an invasion.

He also said his administration was determined to “maintain the status quo” and would not provoke China, but added that peace depends on “real strength.”

Polls consistently show that most Taiwanese want the “status quo,” meaning they neither want to unite with China nor formally declare independence.

Beijing has stepped up military exercises in the Taiwan Strait since 2022, often in response to what it sees as threats, such as former US Speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan in 2022 and Lai taking office in 2024.

At the time, the People’s Liberation Army said China’s last live-fire exercise in the Taiwan Strait in April simulated attacks on key ports and energy facilities. Alongside the drills, the Chinese military released a series of cartoons depicting Lai as a “parasite”.

This week’s military exercises are the first to be conducted under the new chief of the Eastern Front Command, Yang Zhibin, who took office in October.

Taiwan has been holding its own military exercises both to prepare its people for an attack and to demonstrate its defenses to Beijing. This year’s 10-day Han Kuang exercise was the largest and longest exercise ever.

Since taking office, Lai has vowed to increase defense spending and improve the island’s defense capabilities in the face of rising tensions with Beijing.

In October, Taiwan’s president announced that a dome-like air defense system would be built to protect against “hostile threats” – but did not explicitly mention China.

The Chinese military said this week’s drills in the Taiwan Strait will also target deterrence “outside the island chain.”

China’s ties with Japan fell to their coldest point in years after Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi suggested Japan’s self-defense forces could be activated if China attacked Taiwan, in response to a question in parliament last month.

China has protested passionately and warned its citizens not to travel to Japan. Earlier this month, Japan protested Chinese warplanes locking radars on Japanese planes, while Beijing accused Tokyo of “harassing” its forces during a training exercise.