China Turns Up Pressure on Taiwan With Rocket Fire and Blockade Drills

China fired rockets towards Taiwan and expanded large-scale military exercises into a second day on Tuesday, escalating pressure on the self-governed island as Beijing rehearsed what officials and analysts say looks increasingly like a blockade scenario.

China’s military said it deployed navy destroyers, bombers and other forces as part of the drills, which it framed as a warning to “separatist” forces in Taiwan and unnamed “external” backers. The exercises include live-fire operations, simulated precision strikes, air and sea patrols and anti-submarine manoeuvres across five designated maritime and airspace zones surrounding the island.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said some of the live-fire drills were taking place within waters Taiwan considers its own, less than 12 nautical miles from the coast. The coastguard confirmed that seven rockets were fired into two of the designated drill zones.

The military activity quickly spilled into civilian life. More than 80 domestic flights were cancelled, many serving Taiwan’s outlying islands, while more than 300 international flights faced delays as airlines rerouted aircraft around the exercise areas, according to Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration.

The drills, code-named Justice Mission 2025, began on Monday, just days after Washington announced its largest-ever arms package for Taiwan, valued at $11.1bn. Chinese state media described the exercises as a direct response to that decision.

In an editorial, The China Daily said the drills were “part of a series of Beijing’s responses to the US arms sales to Taiwan as well as a warning to the [Taiwanese president] Lai Ching-te authorities in Taiwan”.

China’s Foreign Ministry reinforced that message. Spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters the exercises were “a punitive and deterrent action against separatist forces who seek Taiwan independence through military buildup, and a necessary move to safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Justice Mission 2025 is the sixth round of major Chinese military drills around Taiwan since then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in 2022. But analysts say the scope and intent appear to be evolving.