December 29, 2025 | 12:39 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - China announced "major" military exercises around Taiwan on Monday amid rising tensions with Japan over the status of the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory.
The military exercises, named "Just Mission 2025," will involve live-fire drills starting on Tuesday, China's military initially said. But later on Monday, the military said it already carried out live-fire drills "on maritime targets to the north and southwest of Taiwan."
"This serves as a serious warning to 'Taiwan Independence' separatist forces and external interference forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity," Shi Yi, a spokesperson for China's Eastern Theater Command said in a statement.
"The exercise focuses on training for maritime and aerial combat readiness patrols, gaining integrated control, sealing off key ports and areas and conducting multi-dimensional deterrence."
Taiwan vows to protect 'democracy, freedom and sovereignty'
Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te urged China "not to misjudge the situation and become a troublemaker in the region."
"In response to the Chinese authorities' disregard for international norms and the use of military intimidation to threaten neighboring countries, Taiwan expresses its strong condemnation," presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said on Monday morning that it had detected two Chinese planes and 11 Chinese ships operating around the island in the past 24 hours. China confirmed its Eastern Forces Command was operating in the Taiwan strait.
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry also said it had set up a rapid response center and vowed to "protect democracy, freedom, sovereignty and safety" on the island.
"A response centre has been established, and appropriate forces have been deployed," the Taiwanese military said, adding that its armed forces "have carried out a rapid response exercise."
Rising tensions between China and Japan
Democratic Taiwan has governed itself for decades but China considers it to be a separatist province and has long vowed to retake it by force if necessary.
Monday's announcement comes after Beijing expressed anger over comments by Japan's new nationalist Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who suggested that any Chinese action against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" — a designation under Japanese law that opens the door to military intervention.
It also comes after the United States announced its largest-ever weapons sale to Taiwan, with a package valued at $11.1 billion (€9.4 billion).
While China's military has conducted live-fire drills and practiced port blockades around Taiwan in the past, Monday's announcement was the first time it publicly stated that drills were aimed at "deterrence" of outside military intervention.
Read: US Approves Largest Arms Sale to Taiwan
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