Taipei, December 30
After the Chinese People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command conducted drills in the water to the east of Taiwan in an all-dimensional force projection, Taiwan's Minister of National Defence, Wellington Koo, said on Tuesday that the PLA's provocative actions threaten regional stability.
The drills, which have been codenamed 'Justice Mission 2025', involve the PLA Eastern Theater Command dispatching its Army, Navy, Air Force and Rocket Force troops to conduct joint military drills in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan.
Taiwan's Minister of National Defence, Wellington Koo, said that the PLA's provocative actions threaten regional stability, as reported by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence on Tuesday.
"Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo said today that the PLA's provocative actions threaten regional stability and civilian traffic. Following the President's guidance, the #ROCArmedForces will respond calmly and safeguard our nation's security and democracy", Taiwan's MND shared on Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, the MND recorded 130 PLA aircraft, 14 PLAN vessels, and 8 official ships operating around Taiwan until 6 AM (UTC +8).
On Monday, Taiwan's MND conducted Rapid Response Exercises and said that joint sea and air operations with all services and the Taiwan Coast Guard remain on high alert.
It strongly condemned the "irrational provocations" and opposed the PLA's actions that undermine "regional peace."
Responding to the drill, Al Jazeera reported that Taiwan has cancelled over 80 domestic flights, warning of ocer 300 international flight delays.
According to a report by Focus Taiwan, Taiwan's military on Tuesday said the PLA fired 27 rockets during the second day of its military drill near Taiwan, out of which 10 landed at sea within the nation's 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone.
According to Focus Taiwan, the contiguous zone is an area that extends upto 24 nautical miles from a coastal baseline when it is combined with the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea. This allows coastal states to exercise customs, immigration, health, and sanitation laws.
It further reported that Lt. Gen. Lien Chih-wei, deputy chief of general staff for operations and planning under the MND, said Taiwan's armed forces established an ad hoc emergency operations center after the announcement of the Chinese Drills on Monday so as to safeguard key infrastructure in Taiwan.
Meanwhile, in a post on X, China Military Bugle, the official press account of the Chinese Armed Forces, said that the drills tested capabilities of formation coordination, systemic operations, and precision strikes on key targets.
It further mentioned that the PLA Eastern Theatre Command dispatched task forces of amphibious assault ships, destroyers, frigates, and unmanned aerial vehicles to conduct drills in the waters to the east of the Taiwan.
It wrote on X, "Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command Conducts Drills in Waters to the East of Taiwan Island on All-Dimensional Force Projection and Seizure of Key Ports. On December 30, 2025, the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command dispatched task forces of amphibious assault ships, destroyers, frigates, and unmanned aerial vehicles to conduct drills in the waters to the east of the Taiwan Island, focusing on subjects of all-dimensional force projection, breaching and raid by elite forces, as well as seizure of key ports. The drills tested capabilities of formation coordination, systemic operations, and precision strikes on key targets."
According to China Military Bugle, these focus on sea-air combat readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, blockades of key ports and areas, and all-dimensional deterrence outside the island chain.
The official press account for the Chinese PLA Armed Forces called it a "stern warning" and a legitimate action to safeguard Beijing's "sovereignty and national unity."
"It is a stern warning against "Taiwan Independence" separatist forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China's sovereignty and national unity," it said in a post on X on Monday.
According to Al Jazeera, Justice Mission 2025 was the sixth round of large-scale war games since 2022, when the then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan.
The Justice Mission comes shortly after the United States had approved a record-breaking arms sale of over USD 11 billion to Taiwan.
This includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, according to the State Department. The potential sale of eight arms packages to Taiwan, include HIMARS rocket systems, anti-tank missiles, and drones, at an estimated total cost of US$11.1 billion, Focus Taiwan news outlet said.
Five of the eight arms packages -- the M109A7 howitzers, HIMARS rocket systems, TOW 2B anti-tank missiles, anti-armor drones, and FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles -- are covered in an NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.85 billion) special defence budget put forth last month by the Taiwan government, pending lawmakers' review, the Taiwanese news outlet said quoting the country's Defence Ministry.
In response, China on Friday announced strong countermeasures against several US defence companies and senior executives in response to Washington's recent decision to approve large-scale arms sales to Taiwan, Global Times reported.The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it will impose sanctions on 20 US defence-related companies and 10 senior executives who have been involved in supplying weapons to Taiwan in recent years. The action has been taken under China's Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law and will come into effect immediately.
- ANI
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