China announced the success of military drills around Taiwan, including live-fire exercises, while Xi Jinping declared that national reunification is unstoppable.
On Wednesday, 31 Dec 2025 GMT+7, Chinese authorities announced that their military exercises around Taiwan, which included live-fire drills aimed at simulating blockades of key ports and attacks on maritime targets, had been "completed successfully."
The exercise, codenamed “Justice Mission 2025,” saw the Chinese military launch missiles and deploy fighter jets, warships, and dozens of coast guard vessels around Taiwan's main island on Monday and Tuesday.
Taiwan's government condemned the drills as "severely provocative and reckless," stating that China had failed in its attempts to blockade the self-governed territory.
China has consistently maintained that Taiwan, home to 23 million people, is part of its territory and has even threatened military force to annex the island if necessary.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping later said during his 2026 New Year’s greeting message in Beijing that “the reunification of our motherland, a tide of the times, is unstoppable.”
Senior Captain Li Xi, spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), stated that China’s military will continue exercises to “firmly deter separatist attempts in Taiwan and foreign interference.”
Meanwhile, Taiwan Coast Guard Deputy Director Hsieh Ching-hsin told AFP on Wednesday morning that 11 coast guard vessels remain at sea because Chinese coast guard ships “have not fully left the area” and “we cannot neglect surveillance.”
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen warned Wednesday that China’s targeted drills around Taiwan “are not a one-time event” and pose a significant risk to regional stability.
The Chinese drills followed U.S. approval of a major arms sale to Taipei, and comments from Japan’s Prime Minister suggesting military retaliation if Taiwan is attacked, which angered the Chinese government.
Source:cna