China rockets Taiwan skies amid tense live drills.
Day two of ‘Justice Mission 2025’ drills brings tense 10-hour live-fire and port blockade simulation, hearts heavy with worry.
China unleashed a barrage of rockets streaking toward Taiwan on Tuesday, pressing forward with the gripping second day of its massive “Justice Mission 2025” military drills, where destroyers sliced through waves, bombers thundered overhead, and forces rehearsed a chilling blockade of the self-governed island that left hearts pounding on both sides of the strait.
Beijing’s military, with steely resolve, deployed an armada including navy destroyers and bombers, framing these war games as a stern rebuke to “separatist” and “external” meddlers—code for Taiwan’s independence leanings and U.S. backing. Live-fire exercises roared from 8am to 6pm local time (00:00-10:00 GMT) across five tense maritime and airspace zones encircling Taiwan, blending air and sea patrols, simulated precision strikes, and anti-submarine dances that evoked the raw edge of potential conflict. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense watched warily, noting some blasts would erupt in waters it claims as its own—within 12 nautical miles (22km) of the coast—while the coastguard tallied seven rockets slamming into designated drill zones one and two, cordoned off like invisible walls in the surrounding seas.
The human cost rippled outward: over 80 domestic flights vanished from schedules, stranding families on outlying islands, and more than 300 international routes faced delays as air traffic rerouted around the danger zones, per Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration. Travelers hugged loved ones tighter, eyes glued to screens, wondering if this flex of muscle signaled more than bluster. These drills kicked off early Monday, hot on the heels of Washington’s blockbuster $11.1 billion weapons package to Taiwan—the largest ever—pouring fuel on Beijing’s fury.
well as a warning to the Lai Ching-te authorities,” whose pro-independence stance has long grated. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian echoed the sentiment, branding the exercises a “punitive and deterrent action against separatist forces who seek Taiwan independence through military buildup,” vowing to shield China’s sovereignty with unyielding might. It’s a narrative laced with national pride, yet one that stirs quiet dread among Taiwanese fishing in shadowed waters or farmers gazing at patrolling skies.
At the drills’ core lies “anti-access and area denial,” as William Yang, senior Northeast Asia analyst at the International Crisis Group, astutely observes—a calculated chokehold to starve Taiwan of ally supplies from Japan or the U.S. in any flare-up. Picture it: ports like Kaohsiung locked down, supply ships turned away, an island of 23 million holding its breath. For everyday folks in Taipei cafes or Beijing homes, these spectacles stir a cocktail of defiance, fear, and weary familiarity—a reminder that old grudges die hard. As rockets faded and patrols circled, the strait felt narrower, the world watching with bated breath, hoping cooler heads prevail before simulations turn real. In this high-stakes theater, humanity’s fragile thread hangs taut.