Name: Analyst says Chinese drills near Taiwan directed at U.S.
Uploaded: 2025-12-30T17:58:19.060Z
Duration: 2 min 29 s
Description: China fired rockets into waters off Taiwan on Tuesday (December 30), showcased new assault ships and dismissed prospects of U.S. and allied intervention to block any future attack by Beijing to take control of the island in its most extensive war games to date.

China fired rockets into waters off Taiwan on Tuesday (December 30), showcased new assault ships and dismissed prospects of U.S. and allied intervention to block any future attack by Beijing to take control of the island in its most extensive war games to date.

Beijing

China conducted its most extensive military exercises near Taiwan, firing rockets into nearby waters and simulating a blockade of key installations. The drills occurred shortly after the United States announced a record $11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan, and Chinese officials explicitly stated the exercises aimed to deter foreign intervention.

Analysts and officials noted that the drills targeted both Taiwan and the U.S., with simulations including strikes on U.S.-supplied systems. The Pentagon recently reported that China is preparing to be capable of taking Taiwan by force by 2027, emphasizing the strategic importance of the Taiwan Strait for global trade.

Analyst says Chinese drills near Taiwan directed at U.S.

As China fired rockets into waters off Taiwan on Tuesday in its most extensive wargames to date, analysts said the move demonstrated China's confidence in pressing its military advantage. The drills rehearsing a blockade come days after the U.S. announced a record $11.1 billion arms package to Taiwan. For the first time, China's military said the drills were aimed at deterring outside intervention. Colin Koh is a senior fellow at Singapore's S. Rajaranam School of International Studies. It is unlike in the past when these exercises would be described as rather generic routine exercises. For example, now if you look at the course coming out from Beijing, it is very clear that the explicit aim is to blockade the key installations, in this case the ports, for instance. So this is a course directed at Taiwan, a course directed at the U.S. that all attempts to try to reinforce Taiwan will fail. A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters that China appeared to be simulating striking land-based targets, such as the U.S.-made HIMARS rocket system. That's a mobile artillery system with a range of about 186 miles that could hit coastal targets in southern China. Taiwan's President Lai Ching-teh said that front-line troops were primed to defend the island. Lyle Goldstein, Asia Program Director at Defense Priorities, said this is an arms race Taiwan cannot possibly win. My sense is that China is feeling rather confident. They have had, let's say, a string of successes, for example, sort of going toe-to-toe with the United States during the trade war, the whole situation with rare earths and so forth. Taiwan sits alongside key commercial shipping and aviation routes, with about $2.5 trillion in trade moving through the Taiwan Strait each year. A Pentagon report released last week said the U.S. military believed China was preparing to be able to win a fight for Taiwan by 2027. It also said U.S. military planners believed Beijing was contemplating carrying out strikes from China to take Taiwan by brute force if needed.

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