China Launches Fresh Military Drills In Central Taiwan Strait Amid US Arms Sale, Japan Tensions

China on Monday launched fresh large-scale military drills in the “middle areas” of the Taiwan Strait, deploying a mix of air and missile assets as diplomatic frictions intensified with Japan and Beijing continued to criticise recent US arms sales to Taiwan.

According to PTI, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command said it was using fighters, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles, working in coordination with long-range rocket forces, to conduct exercises in waters and airspace in the central part of the strait. State-run Xinhua news agency reported that the drills were focused on striking mobile ground targets and aimed at testing the troops’ capability to carry out precision strikes on key objectives.

China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as part of its mainland and has repeatedly vowed to integrate it. PTI reported that the latest exercises come amid heightened regional tensions, including sharp Chinese opposition to Washington’s approval of a record arms package for Taipei and worsening ties with Japan over comments related to a possible Taiwan contingency.

The drills coincide with US President Donald Trump’s approval of an arms package worth USD 11.1 billion for Taiwan, which would become the largest-ever US arms sale to the island if cleared by Congress. The proposed sale has raised concerns in Taipei over a potential escalation, while drawing strong criticism from Beijing.

China condemned the move, saying Washington had “blatantly announced its plan to sell massive advanced weapons to China’s Taiwan region” and was sending a “gravely wrong signal to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces”. Responding to Trump’s approval on December 18, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a media briefing that the arms sale supported Taiwan’s independence forces’ plans to turn the island into a “powder keg”. “China will take resolute and strong measures to defend its national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” Guo said, according to PTI.

The military activity also unfolds against rising China-Japan tensions following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in parliament on November 7 that a Taiwan contingency could be a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially prompting action by its defence forces in support of the US. Beijing demanded that Takaichi retract the statement, which it said had crossed a red line.

China has further criticised Japan’s decision to develop the easternmost island of Okinawa for the deployment of a mobile surveillance radar unit to monitor Chinese aircraft carriers and planes. Guo said Japan had continued to strengthen targeted military deployments near the Taiwan region and had even claimed it would deploy mid-range missiles. “This time, it went even further by deploying a radar unit and troops to secretly monitor its neighbour,” he said.

Questioning Tokyo’s intentions, Guo added: “Given the erroneous and dangerous remarks made by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan, we must question: Is the Japanese side making trouble and provocations at one’s doorstep to find a pretext for its military build-up and missions overseas”.

China has markedly increased drills encircling Taiwan since 2022, following a visit to Taipei by then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which Beijing viewed as a major political provocation, CNN reported.

(With inputs from PTI)