China's Big Moves Near Taiwan: What's Happening?

China has been flexing its military muscles near Taiwan, conducting live-firing exercises that lasted 10 hours. These drills are part of a larger set of war games, which are the biggest yet. The goal? To show they can quickly cut Taiwan off from any outside help if things get serious. The Eastern Theatre Command is running these exercises in five spots around Taiwan, both in the sea and the air. They want to make it clear they're serious about stopping any moves for independence and pushing for unification. China's Maritime Safety Administration added two more zones for live-firing, making these "Justice Mission 2025" drills the largest in terms of area and closeness to Taiwan. These exercises started just days after the U. S. announced a huge $11. 1 billion arms deal with Taiwan. China wasn't happy about that and warned they would take strong action. These war games are the sixth major round since 2022, when a high-ranking U. S. official visited Taiwan. The drills are meant to practice quickly surrounding the island, destroying its weapons, and blocking any attempts to resupply Taiwan from nearby places like Japan or U. S. bases.A senior Taiwan security official called these moves a clear provocation. They pointed out that the area is one of the world's most important shipping lanes and that China is trying to change the international order to fit its own plans. Taiwan is keeping a close eye on China to see if they'll push things further, like flying missiles over the island, similar to what happened in 2022. The official also mentioned that China is using extreme pressure tactics to assert dominance over the entire region. On the other hand, the Chinese military is testing its sea and air forces' ability to work together for integrated containment and control. They've deployed destroyers, bombers, and other units to practice sea-based assaults, air defense, and anti-submarine operations. Taiwan, however, rejects China's claim of sovereignty, stating that only the people of Taiwan can decide their own future.