As Taiwan promised to protect democracy and mobilized forces to practice repelling a possible Chinese attack, China's military moved army, naval, air force, and artillery units around the island on Monday for its "Justice Mission 2025" maneuvers.
The Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement on Tuesday that the drills will include live-fire exercises. The statement included a graphic showing five areas around the island that will be restricted in air and sea space for ten hours starting at 8:00 a.m. (0000 GMT).
This is China's sixth major round of war games since 2022, following a visit to the democratically governed island by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
It also follows an increase in Chinese rhetoric regarding Beijing's territorial claims following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's suggestion that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan might result in a military response from Tokyo.
The drills started eleven days after China's defense ministry protested and warned that the military would "take forceful measures" in retaliation after the United States announced $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest weapons package ever for the island.
In an effort to give the United States and its allies as little notice as possible of a strike, Beijing's drills increasingly blur the distinction between standard military training exercises and what observers claim could be stage-setting for an attack.
Fighter jets, bombers, unmanned aerial vehicles, and long-range rockets have all been deployed, according to China's military, which also plans to practice hitting movable land-based targets while mimicking a coordinated attack on the island from several angles.
"This (the drills) serves as a serious warning to 'Taiwan Independence' separatist forces and external interference forces," Eastern Theatre Command spokesperson Shi Yi stated.
The government of Taiwan denounced the exercises. A spokesman for the presidential office called on Beijing to immediately stop what they described as careless provocations and warned China not to misunderstand the situation and jeopardize regional peace.
According to the island's defense ministry, Taiwan's military was on high alert and ready to conduct "rapid response exercises." Over the past 24 hours, two Chinese military aircraft and eleven ships have been operating around the island.
In the event that China abruptly changes one of its regular drills near the island into an attack, that specific exercise is intended to transfer soldiers quickly.
"All members of our armed forces will remain highly vigilant and fully on guard, taking concrete action to defend the values of democracy and freedom," it stated in a statement. The drills had little effect on Taiwan's stock markets, which rose 0.3% to a record high during morning trade.
Following the announcement of the drill, the Chinese military published two posters labeled "Shields of Justice: Smashing Illusions" and "Arrows of Justice: Control and Denial" as well as a third image showing targets locking on at four different points throughout the island.
The drills would concentrate on sealing off Taiwan's major port city, Kaohsiung, to the south, and the crucial deep-water Port of Keelung to the north, according to China's official broadcaster.
In the first poster, military planes and two ships are seen between two golden shields with the Great Wall of China and the symbol of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. An armada of civilian ships that could aid in an assault on Taiwan is being mobilized by China.
Similar to military landing craft employed in amphibious assaults during World War II, these vessels have open decks and ramps, and the billboard seemed to depict two of them at its base.
"Any foreign interference that touches the shield (of justice) shall perish!" The poster said. "Any separatist scoundrels who encounter the shield shall be destroyed!" The second poster depicts green cartoon bugs being speared and blazing arrows falling on Taiwan.
Beijing frequently refers to Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te as a "parasite" and started depicting separatist soldiers in April's war simulations using the cartoon green bug caricature.
Although the PLA rehearsed port blockades around Taiwan during war exercises last year, this is the first time it has made it clear that the purpose of the maneuvers is "deterrence" of external military intervention.
Following Takaichi's comments, Chinese messages emphasizing its claims to sovereignty surged. Taiwan's "return to China" following World War II was crucial to Beijing's conception of the international order, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told U.S. President Donald Trump in November.
Taiwan maintains that only its citizens have the authority to choose the island's future, rejecting China's asserted sovereignty.
