China’s Taiwan Drills: Beijing’s New Strategy of Strategic Ambiguity

On December 29, 2025, the Eastern Theater Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) abruptly launched a large-scale military operation around Taiwan. The operation, code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” was the seventh such action since 2022. But this provocation crossed red lines that earlier drills had deliberately avoided.

For the first time, Chinese maneuvers extended inside Taiwan’s twelve-nautical-mile territorial waters, with the closest activity reportedly less than five nautical miles from the main island. Disturbingly, the operation involved live fire. The drills caused tangible economic and social disruption: Taiwan’s civil aviation authorities were forced to issue multiple emergency flight advisories rerouting civilian aircraft, commercial shipping companies adjusted their schedules, and insurers raised risk alerts for vessels operating nearby.

About the Author

Jianli Yang

Jianli Yang is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Center for the National Interest and a columnist for National Review.

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On December 29, 2025, the Eastern Theater Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) abruptly launched a large-scale military operation around Taiwan. The operation, code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” was the seventh such action since 2022. But this provocation crossed red lines that earlier drills had deliberately avoided.

For the first time, Chinese maneuvers extended inside Taiwan’s twelve-nautical-mile territorial waters, with the closest activity reportedly less than five nautical miles from the main island. Disturbingly, the operation involved live fire. The drills caused tangible economic and social disruption: Taiwan’s civil aviation authorities were forced to issue multiple emergency flight advisories rerouting civilian aircraft, commercial shipping companies adjusted their schedules, and insurers raised risk alerts for vessels operating nearby.