Taiwan stays on high alert as Chinese ships pull back
Taiwan remains on high alert after China held major military exercises around the island, keeping its emergency maritime response center operational.
During the exercises called Justice Mission 2025, China fired dozens of rockets towards Taiwan and deployed many warships and aircraft near the island.
It was a show of force that drew concerns from Western allies, including the European Commission and Britain.
Taipei condemned Tuesday’s drills as a threat to regional security and a blatant provocation.
Chinese ships were moving away from Taiwan, but Beijing had yet to officially declare the drills over, according to Kuan Bi-ling, chairman of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council.
“The maritime situation calmed down as the ships gradually left.
“The emergency response center continues to operate as China has not announced the conclusion of the military drills,” he said in a Facebook post late Tuesday.
A Taiwanese coast guard official told Reuters that all 11 Chinese coast guard ships have left waters near Taiwan and continue to drift away.
Emergency response centers for the military and coast guard remain active, a Taiwanese security official said.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Wednesday that 77 Chinese military aircraft and 25 navy and coast guard ships had operated around the island in the past 24 hours.
Among these, it was stated that 35 military aircraft crossed the middle line of the Taiwan Strait separating the two sides.
The drills, the most comprehensive war games ever by China’s coverage, forced Taiwan to cancel dozens of domestic flights and send jets and warships to observe.
Soldiers were seen conducting rapid response drills, including setting up barricades in various places.
China’s state news agency Xinhua published an article outlining “three key takeaways” from the drills, which began 11 days after the United States announced a record US$11.1 billion ($16.6 billion) arms package for Taiwan.
The simulated “siege” demonstrated the People’s Liberation Army’s ability to “suppress and contain separatist forces while denying access to outside intervention – an approach summarized as ‘sealing from within and blocking from without’,” the article said, citing PLA National Defense University professor Zhang Chi.
China claims to democratically govern Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out using force to bring it under Chinese control. Taiwan denies China’s claims.
