Taiwan’s National Security Bureau said on Wednesday that China’s recent military exercises, dubbed “Justice Mission 2025,” were designed to counter growing international support for the island and distract from Beijing’s domestic economic and social problems.
The drills involved dozens of rockets fired toward Taiwan, as well as the deployment of warships and aircraft around the island, leading to domestic flight cancellations and international concern. Taiwan said the exercises were China’s largest war games by coverage area to date.
Why It Matters
The report suggests China is combining military, cyber, and information campaigns to influence both international opinion and domestic sentiment. Taiwan and its democratic partners in the U.S., Japan, and Europe see the drills as a threat to regional stability, maritime security, and international order in the Indo-Pacific.
China’s drills also coincided with information operations, including AI-generated content and “troll armies,” to question Taiwan’s military capabilities and undermine trust in its leadership and in U.S. support. Taiwan reported over 2 million cyberattacks during the first two days of the exercises.
Taiwan: Defending sovereignty, monitoring cyber and military threats, and reporting on China’s hybrid operations.
China: Conducting military drills and information campaigns to assert territorial claims and generate nationalist sentiment domestically.
Regional allies (U.S., Japan, EU): Concerned about stability in the Taiwan Strait and freedom of navigation.
International community: Monitoring potential escalation risks and Beijing’s use of hybrid tactics.
Political Context
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force. Taipei asserts that only its people can decide Taiwan’s future. The drills followed remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be seen as an existential threat to Japan, highlighting the international dimensions of Taiwan’s security.
Personal Take
The combination of military exercises and coordinated cyber-information campaigns demonstrates China’s evolving hybrid warfare strategy. Beyond signaling military capability, Beijing seeks to shape narratives internationally and domestically, redirecting public attention from economic difficulties toward nationalism and “resisting foreign interference.”
Taiwan’s report underscores the challenge democratic nations face: responding to both conventional military threats and sophisticated information operations that aim to destabilize public confidence, influence foreign opinion, and project Chinese power without direct conflict.
With information from Reuters.