| Date | 29 Dec 2025 |
| Tracker | China-Taiwan Tensions |
| Type | Exercise |
| Location |
Taiwan Strait
23.57, 119.58 (approximate) |
The PLA's two-day Justice Mission-2025 exercise from December 29-30, 2025 rehearsed a full maritime blockade of Taiwan, covering a larger area than any drill since August 2022. Taiwan detected around 130 PLA aircraft sorties, with some 90 crossing the median line or entering the ADIZ. Rocket artillery fired into the Taiwan Strait for the first time since 2022, rounds landing near Taiwan's 24-nautical-mile line, and PLA Navy and China Coast Guard vessels entered the contiguous zone in unprecedented numbers.
| Series | That day | Prior 30-day avg | Week after vs before |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADIZ aircraft | 90 +1425% | 5.9 | +550% (20 → 130) |
| Aircraft detected | 130 +1150% | 10.4 | +486% (37 → 217) |
| PLAN ships | 14 +89% | 7.4 | +43% (51 → 73) |
| Gov ships | 8 +1500% | 0.5 | +600% (4 → 28) |
| Date | Type | Incident |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jan 2025 | Infrastructure | Trans-Pacific Express cable damaged off Keelung; Taiwan blames China-linked freighter |
| 25 Feb 2025 | Infrastructure | Taiwan detains China-crewed freighter after Penghu undersea cable severed |
| 1 Apr 2025 | Exercise | China stages Strait Thunder-2025A drills with live fire and closest carrier approach to Taiwan |
| 23 Jul 2026 | Exercise | PLA holds two-day live-fire drills off Dongshan Island after Beijing slams Lai speech |
Taiwan's Cabinet on September 3, 2026 approved a NT$145.7 billion (US$4.6 billion) defense allocation within a NT$607.63 billion supplementary budget, covering two classified programs, three uncrewed-systems programs and the Chiang Kung anti-ballistic missile system, pending a legislative vote.
President Lai Ching-te's government will ask the Legislative Yuan for NT$1.1225 trillion ($35.2 billion) in defense spending for 2027, the first Taiwanese military budget above NT$1 trillion and the first to exceed 3 percent of GDP.
Chinese military aircraft entering Taiwan's air defense identification zone fell 52 percent in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period of 2025, according to Taiwan's daily defense ministry reports — while PLA Navy vessel sightings dropped just 7 percent.