China to stage drills around Taiwan in ‘stern warning’ to external forces 

China has deployed air, navy and rocket troops to the waters around Taiwan for drills that its military said was aimed at testing combat readiness and delivering a “stern warning” against “separatist” and “external interference” forces.

The announcement on Monday came amid anger in Beijing over an $11.1bn weapons sale to Taiwan by the United States and a statement by Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who suggested that the Japanese military could get involved if China were to attack the self-governed territory.

Beijing considers Taiwan as part of its territory and has pledged to take control of the island by force if necessary.

In a statement, the Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command said it was dispatching army, navy, air force and rocket force troops to five zones around Taiwan for its “Just Mission 2025” beginning on Monday.

The life fire exercises will begin on Tuesday in the Taiwan Straits and areas to the north, southwest, southeast and east of the island, it said.

Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theatre Command, said the activities will focus “on ​training for maritime and aerial combat readiness patrols, gaining ‌integrated control, sealing off key ports and areas and conducting multi-dimensional deterrence”. The drills serve “as a serious warning to ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist forces and external interference forces,” he added.

A separate statement with a map showed five large zones surrounding the island where “live firing activities will be organised” from 8:00am to 6:00 pm (00:00-10:00 GMT) on Tuesday. “For the sake of safety, any irrelevant vessel or aircraft is advised not to enter the afore-mentioned waters and airspace,” the statement said.

The planned drills mark China’s sixth major round of war games since 2022 – after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-governed island – and was described by the state-owned Xinhua news agency as “a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity”.

During the drills, Shi said Chinese vessels and aircraft will approach Taiwan “in close proximity from different directions” and troops of multiple services will “engage in joint assaults to test their joint operations capabilities”, according to Xinhua.

The Chinese military released a poster titled “Shields of Justice: Smashing Illusions” featuring two golden shields emblazoned with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) insignia and the Great Wall of China, along with three military aircraft and two ships.

While the PLA has practiced port blockades around Taiwan during war games last year, this marks the first time it has publicly stated that drills around the island are aimed at deterring foreign military intervention.

The drills come after the US announced earlier this month that it has approved $11.1bn in arms sales to Taiwan in the largest ever weapons package for the island. The move drew a protest from China’s defence ministry and warnings the military would “take forceful measures” in response.

Over the weekend, Taiwan said it deployed aircraft and naval assets as well as missile systems to monitor Chinese activities, after the defence ministry detected three Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels around Taiwan between Saturday and Sunday.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement on its website that all three of the Chinese aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the nation’s southwestern air defense identification zone, or ADIZ.

In an interview aired on Sunday, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te told Sanli E-Television that the island must continue to raise the cost of aggression and strengthen its indigenous defense capabilities to deter China, stressing that peace can only be secured through strength.

“If China sets 2027 as the year to be ready for an invasion of Taiwan, then we have only one choice: to keep raising the difficulty so that China can never meet that standard. Taiwan will naturally remain safe,” Lai said.