China's Exercise Around Taiwan, Taipei on Alert

TEHRAN (Defapress) - According to Reuters, the Chinese military deployed ground, naval, air, and artillery units to hold the "Justice Mission 2025" exercise around Taiwan on Monday.

The maneuver will include live-fire firing on Tuesday, the Chinese military's Eastern Region Command said in a statement. The statement released a graphic showing five areas around Taiwan that will face maritime and air restrictions for 10 hours starting at 8 a.m.

The drills are China's sixth round of military exercises since 2022. The drills began 11 days after the United States announced an $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan.

The Chinese military announced that it would use fighter jets, bombers, drones, and long-range missiles to practice attacking moving ground targets in a simulated coordinated multi-pronged attack on the island.

A spokesman for China’s Eastern Regional Command said: “These exercises are a serious warning to Taiwan separatist forces and foreign interventionist forces.”

Taiwan condemned the Chinese exercise. A spokesman for the Office of the President of the Taiwan Autonomous Region urged China not to make miscalculations and undermine regional peace.

He called China’s military exercise around Taiwan an irresponsible act and demanded that it be stopped.

The Taiwan Autonomous Region’s Ministry of Defense announced that two Chinese military aircraft and 11 ships had been operating around the island in the past 24 hours and that the Taiwanese military was on high alert and ready to conduct a “quick response exercise.” This type of exercise is carried out to quickly move forces in the event of a real Chinese attack.

The self-governing island's defense ministry said: "Our armed forces will remain at the highest level of alert and preparedness."

Chinese state television said the drills would focus on blocking Taiwan's vital ports, including Keelung in the north and Kaohsiung in the south.

Although the Chinese military had previously practiced blockades of Taiwan's ports during drills last year, this is the first time it has publicly said the drills around Taiwan are aimed at preventing foreign military intervention.