China Wraps 'Justice Mission 2025' Live-Fire Drills Around Taiwan With Rocket Launches

Overview

• The PLA’s Eastern Theater Command staged two days of joint exercises around Taiwan that included long‑range rocket fire, simulated port blockades, and anti‑ship, air‑defense, and anti‑submarine operations.
• Taiwan reported detecting 130 Chinese military aircraft and 14 warships on the first day, mobilized rapid‑response forces, and later said the drills did not amount to an effective blockade.
• Authorities reported transportation disruptions, including 76 canceled domestic flights to outlying islands and wider impacts on more than 850 flights, with thousands of passengers affected.
• China framed the drills as a severe warning to Taiwan’s independence movement and to outside interference, as Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged firm countermeasures to U.S. arms sales.
• Governments and blocs including the EU, Germany, France, and Paraguay criticized the exercises and urged restraint and de‑escalation in the Taiwan Strait.