China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has declared that Beijing will forcefully counter large-scale US arms sales to Taiwan, amid escalating military tensions in the region.

This statement coincides with the People's Liberation Army launching a second day of live-fire drills encircling the island on 30 December 2025.

Wang Yi made these remarks during a speech at an annual international relations symposium in Beijing, just over an hour after the Eastern Theatre Command announced long-range live-fire exercises in the waters north of Taiwan Island.

He emphasised that China must resolutely oppose the provocations from Taiwan's pro-independence forces and the significant US military sales, which Beijing views as interference in its internal affairs.

The drills, named "Justice Mission 2025", began on 29 December and mark the largest-scale exercises to date, with seven temporary danger zones disrupting 941 flights and covering areas within Taiwan's 12-nautical-mile territorial waters.

At least 10 rockets were fired from Pingtan in Fujian Province towards Taiwan's northern waters starting at 9 a.m., achieving what the Chinese military described as expected results.

These operations involved land, naval, air, and rocket forces conducting identification, warning, expulsion, simulated strikes, maritime assault, air defence, and anti-submarine drills in northern and southern waters around the island.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported detecting 130 Chinese military aircraft and 22 vessels near the island over the prior 24 hours, with no aircraft carrier deployed but assets like 075-class amphibious assault ships, 052D destroyers, 054A frigates, stealth fighters, missile systems, and drones showcasing blockade and landing capabilities.

The exercises follow the US approval of a record $11.1 billion arms package to Taiwan announced 11 days earlier, including 82 HIMARS launchers, 420 ATACMS missiles, 60 self-propelled howitzers, advanced UAVs, and anti-armour weapons.

China has consistently slammed such sales for violating the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, vowing necessary measures to safeguard sovereignty.

This is the closest encirclement drill since August 2022, following then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit, and the first in nine months since the "Strait Lightning 2025A" exercises.

Beijing claims Taiwan as an inseparable part of its territory and has not ruled out military force for reunification, with Wang Yi asserting that any obstruction to this goal will inevitably fail.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te condemned the drills as harassment unbecoming of a responsible major power, while US President Donald Trump dismissed concerns, noting China's long history of regional maritime exercises.

The Taiwan Strait handles $2.45 trillion in annual trade and serves as a key aviation conduit between China and East-Southeast Asia, heightening global stakes in the standoff.

Analysts view these actions as Beijing intensifying pressure amid the Trump administration's arms boost and regional tensions, including Sino-Japanese frictions over Taiwan remarks.

AFP