'We are our own country': Taiwanese unafraid as China kicks off military drills

Some Taipei residents appeared unfazed on Monday morning (December 29) after China’s military moved army, naval, air force, and artillery units around Taiwan for its “Justice Mission 2025” drills. The island, in response, mobilized troops to rehearse repelling a potential Chinese attack.

“They just want to save face by claiming Taiwan as part of their own country, but Taiwanese people don’t see it that way,” Stephanie Huang, an interior designer, told Reuters in Taipei. “We are a completely independent nation.”

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command announced that the drills will involve live-fire exercises on Tuesday (December 30). In a statement, it included a graphic showing five zones surrounding the island that will be under sea and airspace restrictions for 10 hours starting at 8:00 a.m. (0000 GMT).

This marks China’s sixth major round of war games since 2022, after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the democratically governed island. The exercises also follow a rise in Chinese rhetoric over Beijing’s territorial claims, triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s suggestion that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could provoke a military response from Tokyo.

The drills began 11 days after the U.S. announced $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan—the largest weapons package ever for the island—prompting a protest from China’s defense ministry and warnings that the military would “take forceful measures” in response.

-Production: Fabian Hamacher/Reuters