China Launches Unprecedented Military Exercises Around Taiwan Following Record US Arms Sale

China initiated its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan on Monday, deploying warships, aircraft, and conducting live-fire drills in a significant escalation of tensions following Washington’s approval of an $11.1 billion weapons package to Taipei.

The extensive drills, dubbed “Justice Mission 2025,” involve coordinated deployments of ground forces, naval vessels, fighter jets, drones, and artillery across seven maritime zones encircling the island. According to China’s Eastern Theater Command, the exercises include simulated strikes on land and sea targets and rehearsals to blockade Taiwan’s main ports—tactics that military analysts believe would be central to any future attempt to isolate or coerce the self-governing island.

“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,” said Senior Col. Shi Yi, spokesperson for China’s People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command.

The live-fire exercises are scheduled through Tuesday, with China designating danger zones for artillery firing closer to Taiwan than in previous drills. The operation has already disrupted civilian air and sea traffic, forcing airlines to reroute flights and Taiwan’s aviation authority to establish alternative airspace corridors.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported that 89 Chinese military aircraft, 14 naval vessels, and 14 coast guard ships were operating around the island, with additional warships spotted in the Western Pacific. Some Chinese vessels engaged in close stand-offs with Taiwanese ships approximately 24 nautical miles from shore, near Taiwan’s contiguous zone.

The military escalation comes less than two weeks after the United States approved its largest-ever weapons package for Taiwan. The deal includes 82 HIMARS rocket launchers with 420 ATACMS long-range missiles, giving Taiwan new deep-strike capabilities that could reach mainland China. The package also includes 60 self-propelled howitzers, advanced unmanned aerial systems, military software, and anti-armor weapons.

Beijing has reacted furiously to the arms sale. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun warned that the deal risks turning Taiwan into a “powder keg” and pushing the region toward “military confrontation and war.”

“The ‘Taiwan independence’ forces on the island seek independence through force and resist reunification through force, squandering the hard-earned money of the people to purchase weapons,” Guo said. “This cannot save the doomed fate of ‘Taiwan independence’ but will only accelerate the push of the Taiwan Strait toward a dangerous situation.”

Taiwan has placed its military on high alert and prepared rapid response exercises should the Chinese drills escalate. The defense ministry released a video showcasing its own military capabilities, including U.S.-made HIMARS systems, while the coast guard deployed large patrol vessels to monitor Chinese activity.

“Conducting live-fire exercises around the Taiwan Strait would not only constitute military pressure on us, but could also pose more complex challenges and impacts for the international community and neighboring countries,” said Hsieh Jih-sheng, Taiwan’s deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence.

Chinese state media reported that the exercises focus on sealing off Taiwan’s key deep-water ports, including Keelung in the north and Kaohsiung in the south. This reinforces concerns among security analysts that Beijing is refining blockade options as an alternative to a full-scale invasion.

In a display of psychological warfare, China also released propaganda videos depicting futuristic military technology targeting the island, including automated humanoid robots, drone swarms, and weaponized robotic dogs. Other imagery appeared to show civilian vessels that some analysts suggest could support an amphibious assault.

Despite the intimidating display, some Taiwan residents remain unfazed. “I think these drills are just meant to scare us,” said Lin Wei-ming, a 31-year-old teacher in Taipei. “Similar drills have happened before.”

China claims Taiwan as its territory and has repeatedly refused to rule out using force to bring the democratic island under its control. Taiwan rejects these claims, maintaining that only its 23 million people can decide the island’s future.

The current exercises represent one of the most serious military escalations in the Taiwan Strait since August 2022, when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island, prompting similar large-scale Chinese military drills.