China’s announcement of “Justice Mission-2025” frames military readiness and political messaging as a single instrument. By mobilizing army, navy, air, and rocket units around Taiwan and designating five maritime and airspace zones for live-fire activity, Beijing signaled both operational reach and resolve. The Eastern Theater Command said the exercises would test combat readiness and the “blockade and control of key ports and critical areas,” an explicit reference to denial operations rather than routine training. Naval and air forces began combat readiness patrols on December 29, with daytime live-fire drills scheduled for December 30. The structure and timing mirror a familiar pattern: drills clustered around sensitive political moments to underscore Beijing’s claims over Taiwan.

“A Serious Warning”

Official rhetoric sharpened the deterrent framing. Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command, said the drills would focus on “training in sea-and-air combat readiness patrols, seizing comprehensive control” and “blockade and control of key ports and critical areas.” Shi added, “This exercise serves as a serious warning to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and external interfering forces,” calling it “a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard national sovereignty and maintain national unity.” Chinese state media amplified the message, circulating nationalist imagery captioned “Arrow of Justice, Control and Denial.” In an interview aired on state broadcaster CCTV, military analyst Fu Nan linked the timing to recent U.S.–Taiwan arms cooperation, describing it as an “escalation” of “collusive actions.”

Arms Sales and Budget Friction

The drills coincide with a landmark $11.1 billion arms package announced earlier this month between the United States and Taiwan. The deal includes High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), anti-tank and anti-armor missiles, loitering munitions, howitzers, and military software. Parts of the package are expected to be funded through a proposed $40 billion special defense budget advanced in late November by Taiwan’s president, which has faced resistance in an opposition-controlled legislature. Washington recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China and acknowledges Beijing’s position on Taiwan, while remaining bound by law to provide Taiwan with defensive capabilities. Beijing said the arms sale “infringes on China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, undermines peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

Regional Spillovers

Taipei condemned the exercises as coercive. Presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said the drills “blatantly undermines the security and stability status quo of the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region” and “openly challenges international laws and order.” Beyond Taiwan, the timing reflects strained regional diplomacy. China and Japan have been engaged in a weeks-long dispute after comments by Japan’s prime minister on potential responses to a Taiwan contingency. Alongside the PLA drills, China Coast Guard announced law-enforcement patrols near Taiwan and two outlying islands, widening the operational footprint. Chinese aircraft and ships now appear around Taiwan almost daily, underscoring how multi-domain pressure—air, sea, rockets, and law enforcement—has become normalized in Beijing’s approach.