{"id":195130,"date":"2025-12-30T22:47:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T22:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/china-military-exercises-pla-simulates-taiwan-blockade-trump-not-worried-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T22:47:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T22:47:21","slug":"china-military-exercises-pla-simulates-taiwan-blockade-trump-not-worried-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/china-military-exercises-pla-simulates-taiwan-blockade-trump-not-worried-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"China military exercises: PLA simulates Taiwan blockade, Trump 'not worried' – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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HONG KONG \u2014 China<\/a> fired rockets, massed assault ships and flew bombers around Taiwan<\/a> on Tuesday, simulating a military blockade in an apparent warning to the United States against supporting the Beijing-claimed island.
The second day of the large-scale war games, <\/a>called \u201cJustice Mission 2025,\u201d saw the Chinese military encircle Taiwan in its biggest such exercise in eight months. President Donald Trump<\/a> said Monday that Chinese President Xi Jinping<\/a> had not told him about the exercises but that they did not worry him.
\u201cThey\u2019ve been doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area,\u201d he told reporters. Analysts said the intense activity and accompanying rhetoric were aimed at demonstrating China\u2019s ability to pressure and isolate Taiwan, but also at deterring U.S. involvement.
Though the U.S. has no official relations with Taiwan, it is the self-governing democracy\u2019s most important international backer and is legally bound to provide it with defensive weapons. The issue has long strained U.S.-China relations, though it has taken a backseat under Trump amid a trade war between the world\u2019s two largest economies.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense says the two-day exercises are necessary to defend national security and territorial integrity and \u201cserve as a stern warning against the \u2018Taiwan independence\u2019 separatist forces and interference by external powers.\u201d
China has not ruled out the use of force to seize Taiwan, an island of 23 million people. The Taiwanese government rejects Beijing\u2019s sovereignty claims and strongly condemned the exercise, criticizing China\u2019s military activities as \u201cgroundless and provocative.\u201d It said its forces were on high alert.
\u201cChina has disregarded the international community\u2019s expectations for peace, insisting instead on undermining regional stability through military intimidation,\u201d President Lai Ching-te<\/a> said Tuesday in a Facebook post.
Though China did not specify a reason for the exercises, they are most likely in response to an $11.1 billion U.S. arms package<\/a> for Taiwan that was announced this month and is thought to be the largest ever, said Ava Shen, a China associate at the Eurasia Group consulting firm.
\u201cBecause of this unprecedented amount, I think China felt that it needs to respond,\u201d she told NBC News in a phone interview.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi<\/a> said Tuesday that Beijing must \u201cresolutely oppose and forcefully counter\u201d actions such as the U.S. arms package.
Chinese ground forces on Tuesday conducted long-range live-fire drills in waters north of Taiwan that \u201cachieved desired effects,\u201d said Senior Capt. Li Xi, spokesperson for the People\u2019s Liberation Army\u2019s Eastern Theater Command.
The command said it used bomber aircraft and warships to conduct drills that included strikes on maritime targets as well as anti-air and anti-submarine operations in waters to the north and south of Taiwan. The drills \u201ctested capabilities of sea-air coordination and integrated blockade and control,\u201d it said.
According to Chinese state media, the Type 075 amphibious assault ship was also deployed for the first time.
In addition to the simulated blockade and joint combat readiness, this week\u2019s drill includes a new focus on \u201call-dimensional deterrence outside the island chain,\u201d Shen said, a reference to deterring U.S. military involvement in a potential Taiwan invasion.
U.S.-China relations are in a state of truce after Trump and Xi met in South Korea<\/a> in October, during which they agreed to a one-year extension of lower reciprocal tariffs. Trump has said he will visit China in April, followed by a visit to the U.S. by Xi later in the year.
Both leaders \u201care invested in maintaining stable relations,\u201d Shen said, and China\u2019s latest exercises are unlikely to change that.
Though Trump sees Taiwan as an \u201celement\u201d of U.S.-China relations, it is not his main concern, she said.
\u201cHis top priority is to reach some kind of trade agreement with China, and he doesn\u2019t want any other thing to get in the middle of that,\u201d Shen said.
Trump has notably refrained from expressing public support for Japan<\/a> after its prime minister, Sanae Takaichi<\/a>, outraged Beijing last month by saying that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a Japanese military response<\/a>.
Similarly, Beijing initially responded to the new U.S. arms package for Taiwan with sanctions on 20 U.S. defense-related companies and 10 executives<\/a> that are mostly symbolic.
Taiwan\u2019s Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday on X<\/a> that it had detected 130 Chinese military aircraft and 22 naval and coast guard vessels in the 24 hours to 6 a.m.
This is China\u2019s first major exercise around Taiwan since \u201cStrait Thunder,\u201d a two-day operation held in April<\/a> after Lai called China a \u201cforeign hostile force.\u201d
China also held two major exercises last year called \u201cJoint Sword\u201d \u2014 one after Lai was inaugurated in May<\/a> and one after his first National Day speech<\/a> in October.
It is China\u2019s sixth major round of war games since 2022, when Nancy Pelosi<\/a>, the House Speaker at the time, visited Taiwan<\/a> over Beijing\u2019s objections. During those exercises China fired missiles over Taiwan, which it has not done so far this time.
But this is the first time since 2022 that China announced \u201cmaritime exclusion zones\u201d through which planes and boats were not allowed to pass during the live-fire drills on Tuesday. Five of the seven zones overlap with Taiwan\u2019s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters, according to Eurasia Group.
\u201cThe overall trend is very clear, which is that China is trying to push the boundary of how close can it get its military planes and vessels to Taiwan,\u201d Shen said.
While this week\u2019s exercise is in line with China\u2019s intensifying military pressure on Taiwan, it should not be viewed as a sign that China plans a full-on attack on the island in the near future, she said.
\u201cI think a Chinese invasion of Taiwan still remains very unlikely,\u201d Shen said. \u201cThe primary objective of this exercise is for China to warn the U.S. about its further support of Taiwan.\u201d
Jennifer Jett is the Asia Digital Editor for NBC News, based in Hong Kong.
Peter Guo is an associate producer based in Hong Kong.
© 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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