China Conducts Large-Scale Military Drills Near Taiwan

What Happened?

On Monday, China conducted large-scale military exercises near Taiwan. According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, nearly one hundred Chinese aircraft and thirty warships were detected in international waters not far from the island of Taiwan.

China’s military posted on social media the name of the exercise was, ‘Operation Shield of Justice’ and that ‘all those plotting independence will be annihilated upon encountering the shield.’ In response to China’s military exercises, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said its forces were placed on high alert to monitor China’s activities and that commercial airline flights would be directed away from the affected areas.

Why it Matters

The exercises by China’s military come just weeks after the U.S. announced a record-setting eleven-billion-dollar military aid package to Taiwan. It is probable that the military drills by China represent a response by Beijing to the United States and Taiwan following the new defense spending bill passed by the U.S. Congress. According to Beijing, Operation Shield of Justice will contain live fire exercises, which is the main reason why Taiwan placed its forces on high alert.

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2025 has seen a high number of military conflicts globally. There have been more active conflicts this year than in any year since the end of the Second World War. From the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the Trump Administration’s more frequent use of military force abroad to the Gaza War between Israel and Hamas, major military powers have been using military force with regularity this year.

With the post-World War II geopolitical consensus gone, the new reality seems to be that major powers feel free to use military force whenever they deem it necessary, as long as they don’t interfere with each other.

In that type of climate, China may feel more emboldened to use military force against Taiwan, and there is good reason to believe the exercises conducted by China against Taiwan are not merely for show.

China’s President Xi Jinping has ordered the Chinese military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, and the current drills being conducted could be a step towards fulfilling that mandate. While not everyone in Beijing supports using military force against Taiwan, there has been a surge in Chinese nationalism, and many of its adherents do favor an invasion of Taiwan.

How it Affects You

Taiwan has continued to expand its own military capabilities by adding more U.S. weaponry, and some U.S. allies, most notably Japan, have suggested they could step in if China were to invade Taiwan. The situation in the Pacific is becoming more dangerous and unstable, and if China did attack Taiwan, the implications would be global.

First, there is the risk of a regional conflict becoming global if U.S. allies fight China, and second, because Taiwan is a world leader in semiconductor production, the economic fallout would be substantial.