Exercises
Justice Mission 2025: PLA conducts live-fire drills on second day around Taiwan
Raportoinut AI AI:n luoma kuva
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.
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.