Photo: PLA Eastern Theater Command

The military exercises conducted by Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command on Monday have drawn close attention across the island of Taiwan, numerous voices have criticized Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te for his persistent provocations and misguided cross-Straits policies, warning that such actions are pushing Taiwan toward the brink of war.

At 7:30 am on Monday, the PLA Eastern Theater Command announced that it has launched the "Justice Mission 2025" military exercises. It also issued a notice on and a sketch map of the joint military drill areas, stating that it will conduct major military drills and organize live firing activities in the seas and airspace around Taiwan from 8 am to 6 pm on Tuesday. 

Taiwan media widely covered the drills on Monday, with many describing the exercise as "sudden." Several media outlets, including the United Daily News, set up a dedicated column titled "PLA Drills" in a prominent position on their websites, allowing readers to access all related reports with a single click.

Taiwan's "Central News Agency" reported that the exercises directly involved areas around the island, saying that based on released coordinates and images, five zones were designated — north of Keelung, east of Taitung, south of Pingtung, southwest of the Penghu waters, and the Taiwan Straits area stretching from northwest of Taoyuan to Matsu — forming an encirclement posture around the island.

Another report from the outlet noted that this move marks the seventh PLA encirclement exercises around Taiwan island since the initial one launched in August 2022 in response to then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit.

Liberty Times, widely regarded as a pro-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) outlet, said in a report on Monday that the PLA Eastern Theater Command had "abruptly" announced island-encircling exercises targeting Taiwan. The report cited Chang Ching-sen, a Taiwan politician as saying that argued that the drills are not merely a military exercise but a stress test for war. 

The strategic design of the latest PLA drills is strikingly clear. One element of the drills is a strangulation-style blockade: rather than symbolic, isolated maneuvers, the exercise rehearses a tightly coordinated encirclement aimed at severing the island's critical lifelines. Another is full-spectrum suppression, integrating naval and air power with cyber and electronic warfare to simulate high-intensity operations, said Chang.

One day before the PLA drills, Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te claimed in an interview that the mainland had not crossed the red line for decades because its "strength was insufficient." Huang Kuo-chang, chairman of the Taiwan People's Party, said on Monday that when a "leader" speaks like a frog at the bottom of a well — seeing the world only from within — the embarrassment is not personal, but one borne by all the people of Taiwan, according to China Times. 

During an interview with Taiwan-based BCC News on Monday morning, Cheng Li-wun, leader of the Chinese Kuomintang Party (KMT), sharply criticized Lai for what she described as continuous provocations and erroneous cross-Straits policies, warning that they are driving Taiwan toward the brink of war. 

Hsiao Hsu-tsen, a vice chairman of KMT, said on Monday that the latest PLA's drills are linked to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan, directly targeting Takaichi and Taiwan secessionists, according to the United Daily News.

In another report, China Times cited James Yifan Chen, an assistant professor in the Department of Diplomacy and International Relations at Tamkang University, as saying that said that "Mission of Justice-2025" represents the mainland's response to the Lai authorities' plan to procure NT$1.25 trillion worth of military equipment. A closer look shows that the mainland's two major military exercises were both linked to concrete actions by the Lai authorities that touched upon changes to the status quo.

The US' latest round of arms sales to Taiwan - touted as the largest package to date - is widely seen as a major threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits. Against this backdrop, the PLA exercises serve as a clear warning to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and external interference forces, seeking to check their growing collusion, prevent further deterioration of cross-Straits stability, and uphold overall peace and stability in the region, Chen Guiqing, a researcher at the Institute of Taiwan Studies Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.