Taiwan experienced a tumultuous end to the year. The threat of Chinese invasion, latent since the withdrawal of the nationalists of the Kuomintang (KMT) in the final phase of the civil war, returned to the foreground following the so-called Justice Mission 2025, the largest military maneuvers to date of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) due to total coverage and proximity to the island, an autonomous territory that Beijing not only claims as its own, but also intends to “reunify” by all means, without ruling out military means so many times. rehearsed The large-scale maneuvers that began this Monday encapsulated Taiwan. They surrounded the island on all possible fronts.
The armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) simulated a blockade, an apocalyptic scenario for the interests of international trade. About $2.45 trillion passes through the Taiwan Strait and the island’s airspace each year. It also launched 27 rockets, deployed 25 coast guard and amphibious assault ships and dispatched 130 military aircraft, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry count.
Taipei authorities had to cancel dozens of domestic flights – eleven of the fourteen air routes were affected, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Taiwan – and deploy planes and warships to carry out follow-up work.
“The scope of the exercise seems broader than on previous occasions, with the mobilization of more branches of the Army,” boasted military analyst Fu Qianshao, a former member of the PLA Air Force, in statements to the South China Morning Post newspaper. “The range of maneuvers was extensive, covering air defense, maritime operations and anti-submarine warfare. In essence, exercises were carried out in all operational areas.”
In theory, the Chinese military exercise ended on Tuesday night. However, Taiwan denounces that both Chinese planes and ships still remain in its response zone.
Xi Jinping does not forgive. The Chinese president launched the maneuvers just eleven days after the Pentagon announced the sending of a military aid package to Taiwan valued at $11.1 billion.
It was Washington’s largest arms sale to the island in history. A move that did not sit well with Beijing, which decided to sanction several American companies and escalate tensions in the Strait.
Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te denounced in a Facebook post that China’s military maneuvers were “incompatible with the expected conduct of a responsible great power,” but clarified that his objectives were not to further inflame tempers.
Donald Trump downplayed the seriousness of the matter. “I have a great relationship with President Xi [Jinping]and he hasn’t told me anything about [los ejercicios]. I’ve certainly seen them,” he acknowledged this Monday from his Mar-a-Lago resort. Are you worried? “No, nothing worries me. They have been carrying out naval exercises for twenty years in that area,” the US president responded to questions from the press.
It is the sixth round of Chinese military exercises around Taiwan since Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August 2022. The gesture of the then speaker of the United States House of Representatives did not have the approval of the White House. In fact, Jake Sullivan, who was Joe Biden’s national security advisor, identifies that moment as the turning point that motivated Beijing’s military escalation on the island.
“I think the cost of that visit to Taiwan far exceeded the benefits it brought, so for me it’s a pretty simple calculation,” Sullivan stressed in the China Talk portal podcast. “The visit not only provoked an immediate reaction from China, but also a change in the operating environment around Taiwan that has not returned to what it was before. Therefore, there have been substantial changes in the immediate environment of Taiwan, in a negative sense.”
Xi once again dedicated a few words to Taiwan in the usual New Year’s speech broadcast this Wednesday on the state broadcaster CCTV. “Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are united by ties of blood stronger than water, and the historical trend towards national reunification is unstoppable,” he reiterated.
“China hopes to be able to wage and win a war over Taiwan by the end of 2027,” states the draft of a Pentagon report to which the Reuters agency had access. The deadline coincides with the centenary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army, a commemoration of enormous symbolism for Xi Jinping. Only the increasingly frequent purges in the military establishment remove the possibility of a short-term invasion in the eyes of experts.