News: Recently, military forces of the People’s Republic of China conducted Justice Mission-2025 around Taiwan.
About Justice Mission 2025
- Conducted by: People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China on 29–30 December 2025.
- Location: It was conducted in the air and maritime areas surrounding Taiwan.
- The exercise was the second named large-scale PLA maritime drill directed at Taiwan in 2025, following the Strait Thunder–2025A exercise earlier in the year.
- Objective: The exercise focused on sea and air combat readiness patrols, seizing comprehensive superiority, blockading key ports and territories and “three-dimensional external line deterrence” in the maritime region around Taiwan.
- Forces Involved: China deployed army, naval, air force, and artillery units, including fighter jets, bombers, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and long-range rockets.
- PLA forces practiced striking mobile land-based targets while simulating a coordinated multi-directional assault on Taiwan.
- The exercise placed greater emphasis on shore-based aviation, rocket forces, and amphibious assault ships rather than carrier strike group operations.
- Activities by PLA during the exercise: During the exercise, various Chinese military aircraft and ships were operated around Taiwan, with some vessels deliberately approaching the contiguous zone, 24 nautical miles from the island’s coast.
- Dozens of PLA boats and aircraft conducted maritime and air operations, including rehearsals for potential port blockades.
- Strategic Significance
- The exercise marked the first time China publicly stated that its drills are aimed at deterring foreign intervention.
- PLA actions demonstrated an increasing willingness to operate near Taiwan’s territorial waters and signal the potential for escalation.
- The combination of live-fire drills, amphibious rehearsal imagery, and propaganda posters underscores a dual strategy of military intimidation and political messaging.
