China on Monday began fresh large-scale military drills in the “middle areas” of the Taiwan Strait, signalling another escalation in pressure on Taiwan amid parallel diplomatic frictions with the United States and Japan.
According to state-run Xinhua news agency, "The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command is employing fighters, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles in coordination with long-range rocket fires to conduct drills in the waters and airspace in the middle areas of the Taiwan Strait on Monday."
The drills are focused on striking mobile ground targets and are meant to test the military’s ability to carry out precision attacks on key objectives.
Beijing claims the self-governing island as part of its mainland and has repeatedly said it will integrate Taiwan. The latest drills come days after US President Donald Trump approved an arms package worth USD 11.1 billion for Taiwan.
If cleared by the US Congress, it would be the largest arms sale Washington has approved for the island. The move has sharpened Beijing’s criticism of the US, which it accuses of encouraging separatist forces in Taiwan.
China reacted strongly to the decision, saying Washington “blatantly announced its plan to sell massive advanced weapons to China’s Taiwan region” and sent a “gravely wrong signal to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on December 18, "China will take resolute and strong measures to defend its national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity."
He added that the arms sale would aid Taiwan’s independence forces’ plans to turn the island into a “powder keg”. The military drills are also unfolding against the backdrop of strained China-Japan ties over Taiwan.
Tensions rose after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in parliament on November 7 that a Taiwan contingency could be a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan and may require action from its defence forces in support of the US. China demanded that Takaichi retract the remarks.
Beijing has also objected to Japan’s steps to strengthen its military presence near Taiwan, including plans to deploy a mobile surveillance radar unit on Okinawa to monitor Chinese aircraft carriers and military aircraft.
Guo said the Japanese side was continuing to expand targeted military deployments near Taiwan and had even spoken about deploying mid-range missiles.
“This time, it went even further by deploying a radar unit and troops to secretly monitor its neighbour," he said.
Referring again to Takaichi’s remarks, Guo said, "Given the erroneous and dangerous remarks made by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan, we must question: Is the Japanese side making trouble and provocations at one’s doorstep to find a pretext for its military build-up and missions overseas”.
China has intensified military activity around Taiwan since 2022, after then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, a move Beijing viewed as a direct challenge to its position on the island, CNN reported.