Taiwan remained on heightened alert on Wednesday, December 31, a day after China staged large-scale military exercises around the island, prompting Taipei to keep its emergency maritime response mechanisms fully operational amid lingering uncertainty over Beijing’s intentions.
The drills, dubbed “Justice Mission 2025,” involved the firing of dozens of rockets in waters near Taiwan and the deployment of significant numbers of Chinese warships and military aircraft. The show of force, described by analysts as one of China’s most expansive exercises around Taiwan by geographic coverage, immediately drew concern from Western governments and regional partners, who warned of rising instability in the Indo-Pacific.
Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council chair Kuan Bi-ling said late Tuesday that while Chinese vessels appeared to be moving away from waters near the island, China had yet to formally announce the end of the exercises. As a result, Taiwan’s emergency maritime response centre remained active.
“The maritime situation has calmed down, with ships and vessels gradually departing,” Kuan wrote in a Facebook post. “As China has not announced the conclusion of the military exercises, the emergency response centre remains operational.”
A senior Taiwan coast guard official confirmed that all 11 Chinese coast guard ships previously detected near Taiwan had left nearby waters and were continuing to move away. However, a separate security official said emergency response centres for both the military and the coast guard remained on standby, reflecting ongoing caution in Taipei.
According to Taiwan’s defence ministry, Chinese military activity around the island remained intense over the past 24 hours. The ministry reported that 77 Chinese military aircraft and 25 navy and coast guard vessels had operated near Taiwan during that period. Of the aircraft detected, 35 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary that has long served as a buffer between the two sides.
The exercises disrupted civilian life across the island. Taiwanese authorities cancelled dozens of domestic flights as a precaution, while fighter jets and naval vessels were dispatched to monitor Chinese movements. Soldiers were also seen conducting rapid-response drills in several locations, including setting up temporary barricades as part of readiness measures.
As the drills unfolded, diplomatic activity intensified in Beijing. Ambassadors to China from the four countries that make up the Quad — the United States, Australia, Japan and India — convened on Tuesday. US Ambassador David Perdue posted a photo on social media platform X showing himself alongside his Australian, Japanese and Indian counterparts at the US embassy. He described the Quad as a “force for good” working to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific, though he did not disclose details of their discussions. The US embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Taipei condemned the Chinese drills as a serious threat to regional security and a deliberate provocation aimed at intimidating the island. Taiwanese officials reiterated that such actions only heightened tensions and increased the risk of miscalculation in one of Asia’s most sensitive flashpoints.
Beijing, however, defended the exercises. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhang Han said the drills were a “necessary and just measure” to safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity. She described them as a “stern warning” to what Beijing calls Taiwan independence separatist forces and to external actors it accuses of interfering in China’s internal affairs.
China’s state news agency Xinhua published an analysis outlining what it called three key takeaways from the drills, which began just 11 days after the United States announced a record US$11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan. The article said the simulated “encirclement” demonstrated the People’s Liberation Army’s ability to pressure Taiwan internally while blocking outside intervention — a strategy summarised as “sealing internally and blocking externally.”
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan’s government firmly rejects Beijing’s claims, insisting the island’s future can only be decided by its people.
