Exercises
Justice Mission 2025: PLA conducts live-fire drills on second day around Taiwan
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Continuing its 'Justice Mission 2025' exercises launched on December 29, the People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command held the second day of drills on December 30, featuring live-fire operations simulating maritime attacks and anti-air and anti-submarine missions north and south of Taiwan. The manoeuvres serve as a warning to 'independence forces' and external interference. Taiwan's defence ministry detected a record 130 PLA aircraft, 14 ships, and eight coastguard vessels near the island in the prior 24 hours.
Balikatan 2026, the largest edition yet, opened in the Philippines on April 20 with over 17,000 troops from the Philippines, United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and France. It marks the first participation of Japan Self-Defense Forces troops on Philippine soil since World War II. The three-week exercises focus on interoperability and maritime operations amid global tensions.
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Taiwan's cabinet has outlined a policy to organize conscripts into full battalion-level units starting this year, attaching them to combined-arms brigades for the high-intensity Lien Yung three-service live-fire exercises. This shift breaks from past practices of using conscripts mainly as static garrison manpower, integrating them into the island's war-fighting structure. Officials say the drills will expose conscripts to realistic battlefield conditions alongside professional soldiers equipped with advanced weapons.