On February 26, 2025, China unexpectedly held a live-fire military exercise near the southwest coast of Taiwan, which heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait. According to Taiwan’s defense ministry, the Chinese military unilaterally created a training zone around 46 miles (74 kilometers) from the vital southern cities of Pingtung and Kaohsiung, which are essential to Taiwan’s military and commercial activities. This aggressive action exacerbated regional worries about Indo-Pacific stability at a time when tensions between Beijing and Taipei were already high.
There was a lot of Chinese military activity in the area at the time of the practice. Beginning early Wednesday morning, Taiwan identified 32 Chinese military aircraft flying in the Taiwan Strait, 22 of which were accompanied by Chinese vessels on combined combat readiness patrols close to the island’s northern and southwestern borders.
China’s delineation of the practice zone within international shipping lanes, which was only publicized by short radio broadcasts, constituted a serious threat to aviation and maritime safety, according to Taiwan’s defense ministry, which denounced the exercise. The ministry called the conduct a “provocative act against regional security” and a “blatant violation of international norms.”
A day earlier, on February 25, Taiwan’s coast guard arrested a Chinese-crewed cargo ship that was accused of cutting an underwater communication cable connecting Taiwan to its neighboring Penghu Islands. This unexpected live-fire drill came after that event.
A representative for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office criticized Taiwanese officials for exaggerating the crisis, while Beijing characterized Taipei’s response as “political manipulation.” The drill’s timing, however, raises the possibility that it was a premeditated display of force meant to bolster China’s claim to Taiwan, which it views as a renegade province.
Taiwan’s military moved quickly to keep an eye on the situation and respond to it, using missile units and air defenses to follow Chinese moves. The island’s government called for international attention to Beijing’s increasingly assertive military posture and reaffirmed its position that such moves by China threaten peace in the Taiwan Strait.
The international world is currently expecting an official reaction from China’s defense ministry after the country’s Foreign Ministry sidestepped inquiries regarding the exercise by asserting that it was “not a diplomatic issue.” The exercise on February 26 is the most recent in a string of military actions by China to exert pressure on Taiwan, which has experienced a sharp increase in such actions under Xi Jinping’s direction.
According to analysts, this might be a component of a larger plan to put Taiwan’s defenses to the test and express disapproval of the rising Western backing for the democratic system of self-government. The international community closely monitors the situation as it develops, cautious of the possibility of a misunderstanding in one of the most unstable geopolitical hotspots on earth.