China launched large-scale military exercises around Taiwan on Tuesday involving its navy, air force, army, and rocket forces, including an aircraft carrier battle group, as tensions escalate across the Taiwan Strait.
The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command called the drills a “stern warning and forceful deterrence against ‘Taiwan independence,’” with forces practicing maneuvers including “assault on maritime and ground targets” and blockades of key sea lanes.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported detecting 71 Chinese military aircraft and 13 naval vessels near the island, including the aircraft carrier Shandong operating in the West Pacific. Taiwanese forces have dispatched aircraft, ships and land-based missile systems in response and remain on “high vigilance,” the ministry said.
“China’s blatant military provocations not only threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait but also undermine security in the entire region,” Taiwan’s Presidential Office said in a statement, condemning China’s “escalatory behavior.”
The unannounced exercises come just days after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first Asia tour, where he pledged to counter “China’s aggression” and reaffirmed American support for regional allies.
An internal Taiwanese government analysis shared with CNN suggested Beijing timed the drills as a signal to the Trump administration, where several key officials have taken hawkish positions on China.
“Beijing has opted for restraint to avoid actions that could be seen as directly confronting the US. Taiwan serves as the perfect pretext, prompting Beijing to launch these military drills immediately after the US Secretary of Defense left Asia,” the analysis stated.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office specifically targeted Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, accusing him of taking a “Taiwan independence stance” and labeling China as a “foreign hostile force.” Last month, Lai introduced a 17-point national security strategy aimed at countering Chinese espionage and infiltration.
Taiwan’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo said a central response group has been established to monitor the exercises, which he called a reflection of China’s “destruction of regional peace and stability.”
China’s Coast Guard simultaneously announced “law-enforcement patrols” in waters surrounding Taiwan, including drills for intercepting “unwarranted vessels.” The announcement follows recent incidents where Taiwan detained a Chinese cargo ship for allegedly cutting undersea internet cables.
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Military experts noted these exercises did not receive a specific codename unlike previous drills, with one PLA professor telling Chinese state media that such operations have “become a new normal” for Chinese forces.
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