{"id":446,"date":"2025-12-31T13:25:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T13:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=446"},"modified":"2025-12-31T13:25:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T13:25:41","slug":"taiwan-on-alert-as-chinese-naval-units-withdraw-post-drills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=446","title":{"rendered":"Taiwan on Alert as Chinese Naval Units Withdraw Post-Drills","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"359\" data-end=\"697\"><strong data-start=\"359\" data-end=\"393\">Dec 30, 2025 \u2014<\/strong> Taiwan remained in a heightened security posture on Wednesday, one day after China conducted its widest military drills around the island this year. The <a href=\"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/\"><strong data-start=\"547\" data-end=\"569\">Taiwan Coast Guard<\/strong><\/a> said its emergency maritime response center continued operating as patrol units monitored activity near surrounding sea routes.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"699\" data-end=\"1034\">The exercises, titled <strong data-start=\"721\" data-end=\"748\">\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/\">Justice Mission 2025<\/a>,\u201d<\/strong> included rocket launches into waters near Taiwan and involved naval, air, and anti-submarine readiness simulations. The drills, which China described as a <strong data-start=\"904\" data-end=\"942\">routine large-scale readiness test<\/strong>, were the most expansive by coverage area in 2025, according to regional security monitors.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1036\" data-end=\"1332\">China\u2019s <strong data-start=\"1044\" data-end=\"1071\">Eastern Theatre Command<\/strong> said the drills ran for <strong data-start=\"1096\" data-end=\"1130\">10 continuous hours on Tuesday<\/strong>, involving dozens of warships and aircraft deployed in maritime and aerial zones around Taiwan. Taipei condemned the activities as <strong data-start=\"1262\" data-end=\"1331\">military pressure tactics that risk disrupting regional stability<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"1334\" data-end=\"1390\">Chinese Fleet Pulls Back, Taiwan Stays in Patrol Mode<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1392\" data-end=\"1600\"><strong data-start=\"1392\" data-end=\"1408\">Kuan Bi-ling<\/strong>, head of Taiwan\u2019s <strong data-start=\"1427\" data-end=\"1452\">Ocean Affairs Council<\/strong>, said the maritime situation had <strong data-start=\"1486\" data-end=\"1501\">cooled down<\/strong> late Tuesday, noting that Chinese coast guard vessels were moving away from Taiwan\u2019s outer waters.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-start=\"1602\" data-end=\"1701\">\n<p data-start=\"1604\" data-end=\"1701\">\u201cThe maritime environment has become quieter as vessels depart gradually,\u201d she wrote on Facebook.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p data-start=\"1703\" data-end=\"1940\">A coast guard official told Reuters that <strong data-start=\"1744\" data-end=\"1811\">all 11 Chinese coast guard ships had left Taiwan\u2019s outer waters<\/strong> and were continuing to sail away. However, Taiwanese defense and coast guard response centers <strong data-start=\"1906\" data-end=\"1923\">remain active<\/strong>, officials said.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1942\" data-end=\"2303\">Taiwan\u2019s <strong data-start=\"1951\" data-end=\"1971\">Defense Ministry<\/strong> on Wednesday reported that <strong data-start=\"1999\" data-end=\"2058\">77 Chinese aircraft and 25 naval or coast guard vessels<\/strong> were detected operating in the broader region over the past 24 hours. Of those, <strong data-start=\"2139\" data-end=\"2199\">35 military planes crossed the Taiwan Strait median line<\/strong>, the ministry added, describing it as part of a <strong data-start=\"2248\" data-end=\"2302\">standard aerial readiness route used during drills<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1942\" data-end=\"2303\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-447 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/16309670_9bc233e70076a3ad06dc9216f12f84c3_0b5dbc00f2f6ff41c4baaeada38f896b_1300x820_3e987a656578b4a03ddf3044a35a7868_1200x675-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Taiwan on Alert as Chinese Naval Units Withdraw Post-Drills\" width=\"1136\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/16309670_9bc233e70076a3ad06dc9216f12f84c3_0b5dbc00f2f6ff41c4baaeada38f896b_1300x820_3e987a656578b4a03ddf3044a35a7868_1200x675-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/16309670_9bc233e70076a3ad06dc9216f12f84c3_0b5dbc00f2f6ff41c4baaeada38f896b_1300x820_3e987a656578b4a03ddf3044a35a7868_1200x675-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/16309670_9bc233e70076a3ad06dc9216f12f84c3_0b5dbc00f2f6ff41c4baaeada38f896b_1300x820_3e987a656578b4a03ddf3044a35a7868_1200x675-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/16309670_9bc233e70076a3ad06dc9216f12f84c3_0b5dbc00f2f6ff41c4baaeada38f896b_1300x820_3e987a656578b4a03ddf3044a35a7868_1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1136px) 100vw, 1136px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"2305\" data-end=\"2361\">Diplomatic and Security Dialogue Continues in Beijing<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"2363\" data-end=\"2698\">As the drills unfolded, ambassadors from the <strong data-start=\"2408\" data-end=\"2452\">Quad (U.S., Japan, India, and Australia)<\/strong> met in Beijing for security dialogue. U.S. Ambassador <strong data-start=\"2507\" data-end=\"2523\">David Perdue<\/strong> shared a photo from the U.S. embassy, calling the Quad a <strong data-start=\"2581\" data-end=\"2639\">\u201cgroup focused on maintaining Indo-Pacific stability,\u201d<\/strong> though <strong data-start=\"2647\" data-end=\"2697\">no operational details were disclosed publicly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2700\" data-end=\"2962\">China\u2019s <strong data-start=\"2708\" data-end=\"2756\">Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhang Han<\/strong> said Wednesday that the drills were a <strong data-start=\"2795\" data-end=\"2849\">\u201cnecessary step to reinforce national sovereignty\u201d<\/strong> and a <strong data-start=\"2856\" data-end=\"2937\">\u201cformal message toward independence-linked rhetoric and foreign involvement,\u201d<\/strong> remarks Taipei rejected.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"2964\" data-end=\"3029\">Monthly Casualties and Readiness Framing Debated in Washington<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"3031\" data-end=\"3286\">Although no direct evidence of foreign intervention was confirmed publicly by Washington or NATO, analysts said that <strong data-start=\"3148\" data-end=\"3271\">framing maritime logistics pressure as war-on-terror language without multilateral confirmation could increase mistrust<\/strong> in the region.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"3288\" data-end=\"3339\">China Rules Out Immediate Conflict, Analysts Say<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"3341\" data-end=\"3576\">Lyle <strong data-start=\"3346\" data-end=\"3359\">Goldstein<\/strong>, Asia program director at U.S. think tank <strong data-start=\"3402\" data-end=\"3424\">Defense Priorities<\/strong>, said that despite the intensity of Beijing\u2019s drill coverage, China is <strong data-start=\"3496\" data-end=\"3575\">unlikely to pursue full conflict due to heavy economic and diplomatic costs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-start=\"3578\" data-end=\"3689\">\n<p data-start=\"3580\" data-end=\"3689\">\u201cThere is a lot of rhetoric, but real conflict would carry major consequences for all sides,\u201d Goldstein said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p data-start=\"3691\" data-end=\"3814\">China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, while <strong data-start=\"3743\" data-end=\"3772\">Taipei rejects that claim<\/strong>, saying it is a self-governing democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dec 30, 2025 \u2014 Taiwan remained in a heightened security posture on Wednesday, one day after China conducted its widest military drills around the island this year. The Taiwan Coast Guard said its emergency maritime response center continued operating as patrol units monitored activity near surrounding sea routes. The exercises, titled \u201cJustice Mission 2025,\u201d included [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1,"featured_media":448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=446"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":449,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446\/revisions\/449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}