On Tuesday, the second day of China’s recent set of war games, called Justice Mission 2025—because the Chinese Communist Party really cares about justice, or at least its subversion—the Chinese military fired rockets to the north and south of Taiwan (The Japan Times, December 30, 2025)
The missiles hit the water.
Video released by the Chinese military showed trucks carrying advanced PCH-191 multiple-launch rocket systems firing volleys of rockets and striking preset targets in the ocean. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed the launches, saying that debris had been detected within the island’s “contiguous zone” 24 nautical miles (44 kilometers) from its shores.
The two-day “Justice Mission 2025” exercises—the first such drills since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks early last month that Japan could intervene militarily in a crisis over Taiwan—were also employing fighter jets, bombers, destroyers, frigates and, for the first time in drills around the island, China’s massive Type 075 amphibious assault ship….
Japan is closely watching this week’s drills to see if China would again launch ballistic missiles amid the neighbors’ ongoing dispute following Takaichi’s remarks.
But the Chinese military instead appeared to highlight the drills involving its PCH-191 multiple-launch rocket systems, with state-run media playing up their potency and noting that the sites targeted to Taiwan’s north and south were home to the most critical transportation routes for importing energy and other resources.
According to state media and outside observers, the latest exercises are larger than previous ones and closer to Taiwan. They were anyway substantial enough to disrupt flights from Taiwan to Japan or to the coast of China, with “more than 100,000 passengers” being affected.
The purpose of the Justice exercise is to show Taiwan and the world that the People’s Liberation Army is getting better and better at figuring out how to invade and blockade Taiwan when nobody is fighting back.
Republic of China President Lai Ching-te advised the CCP that it is acting irresponsibly.
“Maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait and in the Indo-Pacific is the shared expectation of the international community and a steadfast commitment of Taiwan as a regional member. However, the Chinese Communist Party’s recent escalation of military pressure is utterly inconsistent with the conduct expected of a responsible major power.”
