China holds military drills around Taiwan in 'stern warning against separatist forces'
Taiwan said it was placing its forces on alert with rapid response exercises under way
China's military has dispatched air, navy and rocket troops to conduct joint military drills around the island of Taiwan, a move Beijing called a "stern warning" against separatist and "external interference" forces.
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Taiwan said it was placing its forces on alert and called the Chinese government "the biggest destroyer of peace".
The first of two days of drills came after Beijing expressed anger at US arms sales to the territory and a statement by Japan's prime minister Sanae Takaichi saying its military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, the self-governing island that the world's second-biggest economy says must come under its rule.
The Chinese military did not mention the United States and Japan in its statement on Monday morning.
Taiwan's Defence Ministry said in a post on X that rapid response exercises were under way, with forces on high alert to defend the island.
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In response to today’s #PLA aircraft and naval activity, the #ROCArmedForces conducted Rapid Response Exercises and closely monitored the situation. Joint sea and air operations with all services and the Taiwan Coast Guard remain on high alert. #FullAwareness pic.twitter.com/urRlOh4cUL
— 國防部 Ministry of National Defense, ROC(Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MoNDefense) December 29, 2025
In a separate statement, it said it had deployed appropriate forces in response, conducting combat readiness drills.
"The Chinese Communist Party's targeted military exercises further confirm its nature as an aggressor and the biggest destroyer of peace," the ministry said.
Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson of China's People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command, said the drills would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south west, south east and east of the island.
Col Shi said the activities will focus on sea-air combat readiness patrol, "joint seizure of comprehensive superiority" and blockades on key ports.
It was also the first large-scale military drill where the command publicly mentioned one of the goals was "all-dimensional deterrence outside the island chain".
"It is a stern warning against 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces and external interference forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China's sovereignty and national unity," Col Shi said.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when a civil war brought the Communist Party to power in Beijing.
Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan.
The island has operated since then with its own government, though the mainland's government claims it as sovereign territory.
The command on Monday deployed destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles, alongside long-range rockets, to the north and south west of the Taiwan Strait.
It carried out live fire exercises against targets in the waters as well.
Among other training, drills to test the capabilities of sea-air co-ordination and precise target hunting were also conducted in the waters and airspace to the east of the strait.
Hsieh Jih-sheng, deputy chief of the general staff for intelligence of the Taiwanese Defence Ministry, said that as of 3pm local time on Monday, 89 aircraft and drones were operating around the strait, with 67 of them entering the "response zone" - airspace under the force's monitoring and response.
In the sea, the ministry detected 14 navy ships around the strait and four other warships in the Western Pacific, in addition to 14 coast guard vessels.
Military drills are set to continue on Tuesday.