The U.S. on Thursday called on China to exercise restraint and engage in dialogue following Beijing’s military exercises near Taiwan.
State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that China’s military activities and rhetoric “increase tensions” and urged Beijing to cease its military pressure against Taiwan, while engaging in meaningful dialogue. He added that the United States “supports peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, including by force or coercion.”
The drills, named Justice Mission 2025, began on Monday, shortly after the United States approved a one-time arms sale to Taipei worth over $11 billion.
China’s PLA Eastern Theater Command announced on Wednesday that the exercises had been completed successfully. Senior Captain Li Xi, the command spokesperson, said the drills tested integrated joint operations, strengthened combat readiness, and aimed to deter Taiwan independence movements and external intervention, while safeguarding national sovereignty.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian described the exercises as a “punitive and deterrent response to Taiwan independence separatist forces who attempt to seek independence through military buildup.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) said its armed forces had adjusted their force posture in response, maintaining a measured and controlled approach to ensure sovereignty, democracy, and public safety. The MND released a video titled “Life Goes On,” showing deployments and monitoring of PLA ships, and emphasising that daily life in Taiwan continued as normal despite the drills.
Chinese President Xi Jinping did not mention the exercises in his New Year message, though he highlighted Taiwan in other contexts, emphasising the shared “bond of blood and kinship” and declaring that reunification with Taiwan was a “trend of the times” and “unstoppable.”
Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te said Beijing “has continued to escalate military tension in the region, which is not the behaviour of a responsible world power,” according to Focus Taiwan. He added that Taiwan “will not provoke a confrontation, nor seek conflict with China.”
China regards Taiwan as a “breakaway province,” while Taipei maintains that it has operated independently since 1949.
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Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most shipowners away. Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from nine the day before and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 19th of August, covering the latest developments.
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North Korea has fired more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles after U.S. President Donald Trump reduced American participation in joint military exercises with South Korea in an effort to revive dialogue with Pyongyang.
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