Justice Mission-2025

Justice Mission-2025 was a large-scale military exercise conducted by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from December 29–30, 2025.

The drills took place around Taiwan, including the Taiwan Strait and adjacent sea and airspace.

China stated the purpose was to safeguard its sovereignty and national unity, and to deter “Taiwanese separatism” and foreign interference.

Focus on sea and combat readiness, blockade operations, and integrated deterrence using land, sea, and air forces.

On the first day, PLA aircraft executed about 130 sorties, with around 90 crossing the Taiwan Strait centreline (a notional line between China and Taiwan).

The Taiwan Strait lies between Taiwan and Fujian Province of mainland China.

On the second day, PLA long-range rockets were fired, with some landing in Taiwan’s contiguous zone (up to 24 nautical miles from Taiwan’s baseline), marking one of the closest approaches in recent drills.

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and strongly opposes moves toward formal independence or foreign military support for Taiwan.

Justice Mission-2025 followed a proposed U.S. arms sale to Taiwan worth about $11 billion, which included howitzers, advanced rocket launchers, and missiles, intensifying cross-strait tensions.

Similar PLA drills have been held in recent years after high-profile Taiwanese visits to the United States and other developments perceived in Beijing as challenging its claims.

“Strait Thunder-2025A” (APRIL 2025) by China in South china sea exhibited a new focus on chokepoint control with the emergence of a dual-layer “Cabbage Strategy,” in which an inner circle of maritime militia, coast guard, and naval forces surrounds Taiwan while a separate outer circle harrasses foreign military forces.