Overview
- The PLA Eastern Theater Command began 'Justice Mission 2025,' staging coordinated army, navy, air force and missile drills around Taiwan in five zones including the strait, with tasks such as port blockades and 'integrated control.'
- Chinese forces are using destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers and drones, with live-fire shots on maritime targets north and southwest of the island, according to official communiqués.
- Taiwan condemned the moves as military intimidation, activated a response center and deployed forces after reporting four Chinese coast guard ships near its northern and eastern waters, alongside recent PLA air and naval activity.
- China’s Foreign Ministry warned 'external forces' backing Taipei, saying efforts to halt unification will fail, while state messaging described the drills as a serious warning against independence and foreign interference.
- Separately, CCTV aired a PLA wargaming event in Xuchang featuring about 20 units and domestically developed simulators with scenarios spanning Taiwan, the Russian Far East and the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, including movements near Houston, as a recent U.S. Pentagon report flagged rapid Chinese naval and nuclear expansion.