China Declares Taiwan Military Drills ‘Successful,’ Declines to Explain What That Means

PLA says exercises fully tested readiness, sovereignty, and ability to end a year ominously.

BEIJING — China’s People’s Liberation Army announced Wednesday that it had “successfully completed” two days of military exercises near Taiwan, concluding an operation it described as fully testing its combat readiness and joint operational capabilities.

The announcement, delivered via a brief video accompanied by martial music, did not specify the criteria used to determine success, nor did it clarify whether drills continued beyond their originally stated schedule.

The exercises, conducted under the name “Justice Mission 2025,” were widely interpreted as a message to Taiwan and external powers, signaling China’s continued commitment to asserting sovereignty over the self-governing island.

Chinese President Xi Jinping referenced the situation indirectly in a New Year’s Eve address, stating that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share “a bond of blood and kinship,” and describing reunification as “unstoppable.”

Taiwan, the United States, Japan, and regional allies expressed concern, with Japan’s foreign ministry calling the drills an escalation of tension in an already fragile geopolitical environment.

Chinese officials, meanwhile, reiterated that the exercises were routine, necessary, and entirely normal.