China holds military drills around Taiwan after US arms deal

China kicked off military maneuvers around Taiwan that it said included live-fire drills, in a dramatic show of force after the U.S. announced one of its biggest arms packages ever for the self-run democracy.

The “Justice Mission-2025” exercises, the first major drills off Taiwan since April, began on Monday and served as a “stern warning against ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces and external interference,” Senior Colonel Shi Yi said in a statement.

The People’s Liberation Army published a separate statement outlining five zones for live-fire drills on Tuesday, which Chinese authorities advised airlines to avoid. The blocks cut into Taiwanese territorial waters for the first time since 2022, although no military ships have entered that area yet, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry.

The drills underscore how sensitive the Taiwan question is to Beijing, even as it seeks to stabilize relations with Washington — Taipei’s biggest backer. China reacted angrily to the U.S. earlier this month approving a package of arms sales to Taiwan worth up to $11 billion, saying it raised the chances of a clash between the superpowers. On Friday, China unveiled largely symbolic sanctions against 20 U.S. defense companies and 10 executives.

The maneuvers come just two months into the one-year truce that China and the U.S. reached in their trade dispute, and as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to visit the world’s No. 2 economy in April.

The exercises are unlikely to disrupt that agreement, according to Dylan Loh, associate professor of Nanyang Technological University, who said a more provocative action from Beijing was unlikely. In 2022, China sent missiles directly over the main island of Taiwan in response to then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting Taipei.

“They will want to hit the Goldilocks zone of inflicting pain and demonstrating resolve but not being seen as disproportionate,” Loh said. “A missile flying over the island would certainly fall under the escalation that could invite tit-for-tat.”

The Defense Ministry in Taipei criticized China for “irrational provocative actions” on Monday, saying it had deployed forces to conduct “combat-readiness drills.” Taiwan’s aviation authority said marking out areas for live-fire drills severely undermined flight safety, and the exercises will affect some 857 flights — or more than 100,000 passengers — on Tuesday.

Investors in Taiwan tend to shrug off such military activity. The benchmark Taiex gauge rose 0.9% to 28,811, extending a record high on strong investor demand for the advances tech products like chips that are Taiwanese companies’ specialty. Defense shares on both sides of the strait rose.

China’s state broadcaster said naval formations had conducted “live-ammunition shooting exercises involving multiple weapons” in waters and airspace to the southwest, north and east of Taiwan at about 9:30 a.m. on Monday.

Accompanying footage showed machine guns on the deck of warships firing into the sea, military aircraft taking off and missiles getting into launch position for what a narrator described as “simulated strikes.”

A total of 89 aircraft appeared near Taiwan as of 3 p.m., according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, of which 67 entered areas that required a response. Officials also recorded 14 PLA vessels as well as 14 Chinese coast guard ships nearby.

Chinese authorities didn’t issue public warnings for Monday’s live-fire exercises, and maritime traffic around the Taiwan Strait — one of the world’s biggest shipping routes — didn’t appear to have been disrupted by the exercises.

Things could look different when the drills enter their second day.

The PLA announced that from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday it would hold live-fire exercises, saying “any irrelevant vessel or aircraft is advised not to enter” the area. China’s maritime authorities listed an extra two large zones where the military would “organize live ammunition.”

China’s Defense Ministry did not respond to request for comment on discrepancies in the warning zones.

The areas the Chinese military marked for the exercises were bigger than in the past, according to William Yang, senior analyst for North East Asia at the International Crisis Group.

The PLA is signaling its “intent to enhance its troops’ anti-access and area-denial capabilities, which sends a direct signal to the U.S. and its allies — especially Japan — about Beijing’s determination to block external interference in future contingency over Taiwan.”

Beijing and Tokyo have been at odds since early November, when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said her nation’s military could theoretically be deployed if China were to attack Taiwan. Beijing reacted fiercely to those remarks, including by placing limits on Chinese tourists traveling to Japan.

The latest drills also come as President Xi Jinping’s widening purge of the military has raised questions about its combat readiness.

“China is getting very, very good at conducting snap exercises to the point where one could happen very quickly,” said Jaime Ocon, a research fellow at Taiwan Security Monitor. “I think that’s very dangerous for Taiwan.”

‘Egregious in nature’

China’s military is holding drills because “collusion between the U.S. and Taiwan has become frequent and egregious in nature,” an expert told Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account linked to China’s state media.

In a video posted by the account, Fu Zhengnan — an expert with China’s Academy of Military Sciences — pointed to the size of the U.S. arms package and what he called a shift from defensive to offensive weaponry.

Fu was likely referring to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS. Those weapons, which Ukraine has used effectively in its fight against Russia, can strike well into China’s southeastern coast. Taiwan first got them last year and started testing them in May 2025.

A spokesperson for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the latest drills are “intended to curb the collusion between ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and external powers to stir up trouble in the Taiwan Strait.”

Beijing has stepped up military intimidation of the democracy of 23 million people since Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took office in May 2024. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be brought under its control, by force if necessary — a stance Taipei steadfastly rejects.

In an interview that aired Sunday, Lai told a television station that Taiwan must “keep raising the difficulty” for any attack by China.

“When we ask our service members to stand on the front lines to defend the country, we must ensure they are provided with weapons in sufficient quantity and of high quality,” he vowed.

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—With assistance from Cindy Wang, Ken Wang, Adrian Leung, Yongchang Chin and Argin Chang.