TAIPEI, Jan 1 – Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it has confirmed a total of 207 Chinese military aircraft flew around the self-ruled island during the 48 hours until early Wednesday, as China conducted drills seen as a warning against separatism.
Of the total plane sightings until 6 a.m., 125 had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the ministry said. The median line was long respected by both sides but has been increasingly ignored by China in recent years.
China’s military fired a total of 27 rockets in two waves between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Tuesday from the coastal province of Fujian into waters north and southwest of Taiwan.
China views Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary, and says the latest round of military exercises from Monday are aimed at countering separatism and external interference.
China’s Eastern Theater Command announced the end of the “Justice Mission 2025” drills on Wednesday evening, saying that it had “fully tested the integrated joint operations capabilities of its troops.”
In a statement Wednesday, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, whom the mainland has labeled a separatist, praised the island’s military for “responding swiftly” to China’s exercises and criticized Beijing for its aggressive actions also near Japan and in the South China Sea.
Lai said the drills targeting Taiwan were not isolated incidents, warning that the mainland’s “authoritarian expansion and escalating coercion” have injected significant uncertainty into regional stability and disrupted global shipping, trade and peace.
At a press conference the same day, Zhang Han, a spokeswoman for mainland China’s State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, reiterated that the military exercises were a stern warning to “Taiwan independence separatist forces and external interference,” while stressing that “separatist activity will never be tolerated” and will be met with resolute countermeasures.
In a statement, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said the government has conveyed its concerns over the military drills around Taiwan to mainland China, citing that they “constitute actions that increase tensions across the Taiwan Strait.”
Tokyo “expects the issue surrounding Taiwan to be resolved peacefully through dialogue,” according to the statement of Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Toshihiro Kitamura, adding that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are important to the international community and that Japan will continue to monitor related developments with “strong interest.”
In addition to Japan, several other countries and the European Union have expressed concern over the latest military drills, urging restraint to prevent a further escalation of tensions.
The European External Action Service, the EU’s diplomatic service, said in a statement on Tuesday that mainland China’s “recent military exercise further increases cross-strait tensions and endangers international peace and stability,” urging restraint and calling on all sides to avoid actions that could further escalate tensions.
In a statement on Wednesday, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said “differences should be managed through dialogue, not the use of force or coercion” and that Australian officials have raised concerns with their Chinese counterparts.
Responding to a reporter’s question about the remarks by Japan and other countries and institutions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian criticized those countries and institutions for “turning a deaf ear” to Taiwan independence separatist forces and “turning a blind eye” to what he described as interference by external forces in China’s internal affairs.
He added that “China firmly opposes this and has lodged solemn representations.”
