Overview
- China declared completion of its multi‑day “Mission Justice 2025” exercises around Taiwan that featured live fire, missile launches, and coordinated navy, air force, and coast guard operations simulating blockades and maritime strikes.
- Xi Jinping used his year‑end address to say reunification is an unstoppable trend, while officials including Zhang Han cast the drills as a severe warning to pro‑independence forces and to foreign interference.
- Taiwan labeled the maneuvers highly provocative, reported Chinese vessels loitering outside the 24‑nautical‑mile line, and kept 11 coast guard ships on station as it vowed to bolster defenses.
- The U.S. State Department said the activities unnecessarily raise tensions, urged Beijing to end military pressure and pursue dialogue, and the latest criticism followed a recent U.S. arms sale to Taiwan worth about $11 billion.
- Beijing rejected UK concerns as a distortion of facts and reiterated that it views the Taiwan issue as an internal matter.