PLA Eastern Theater Command Justice Mission 2025 Exercise: Strategic Breakthrough into Taiwan's 12-Nautical-Mile Buffer Zone for the First Time

## Exercise Overview

From December 29 to 30, 2025, the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) organized and conducted a large-scale joint military exercise codenamed "Mission of Justice 2025." This exercise involved multiple branches of the military, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force, showcasing the PLA's increasingly enhanced joint operational capabilities in the Taiwan Strait region. Notably, this exercise marked the first time the PLA entered Taiwan's 12-nautical-mile contiguous zone, signifying a new breakthrough in the PLA's military operations in the Taiwan Strait.

## Scale and Tactical Characteristics of the Exercise

The "Mission of Justice 2025" exercise exhibited three significant characteristics. First, **comprehensive demonstration of joint operational capabilities across multiple services**. The coordinated efforts of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force reflected the maturity of the PLA's joint operational system. The formation of a three-dimensional combat network with naval task forces, air force squadrons, and precision strike units from the Rocket Force showcased an all-domain operational capability that far exceeds previous training models dominated by single services.

Second, **significantly enhanced realism**. The exercise included key tactical subjects such as joint blockades, air defense suppression, precision strikes, and amphibious operations, particularly in real combat drills under complex maritime conditions and electromagnetic countermeasures, thoroughly testing the troops' combat capabilities in a real battlefield environment.

Third, **increased tactical flexibility and surprise**. The exercise was conducted in multiple directions, in batches, and continuously day and night, demonstrating the PLA's rapid response and sustained combat capabilities. This high-intensity, high-density training rhythm exerted tremendous attritional pressure on Taiwan's defense system.

## Strategic Significance of the 12-Nautical-Mile Breakthrough

The most striking aspect of this exercise was the PLA's first entry into Taiwan's 12-nautical-mile contiguous zone. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the contiguous zone is an area where coastal states can exercise specific jurisdiction, and although it differs from the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea, this action still carries significant strategic symbolic meaning.

**Legal Breakthrough**: The PLA's actions indicate that China is no longer content with operating west of the so-called "median line" in the Taiwan Strait, but is clearly signaling to the international community that the Taiwan Strait is China's internal sea, and the PLA has the right to conduct normal military activities in the waters surrounding Taiwan. This serves as a clear warning to "Taiwan independence" forces and external interference.

**Military Pressure**: Entering the 12-nautical-mile contiguous zone signifies that the PLA possesses both the capability and the will to conduct high-intensity military operations right at Taiwan's "doorstep." This will compel the Taiwanese military to reassess its defensive depth, significantly compressing the original warning and response times.

**Psychological Deterrence**: This breakthrough sends a clear signal to the Taiwanese authorities and "Taiwan independence" forces— the PLA's combat readiness has entered a new stage, and any "Taiwan independence" adventurous actions will face immediate and powerful military responses.

## U.S. Response and International Impact

In response to the PLA's exercise, the U.S. State Department quickly called for Beijing to exercise restraint. This reaction was both expected and revealed the strategic anxiety of the U.S. side.

The U.S. call for "restraint" essentially attempts to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, but the PLA's actions clearly indicate that the so-called "status quo" is being redefined by China in a gradual yet firm manner. Notably, aside from verbal statements, the U.S. has not taken substantial military action, reflecting the increasingly limited maneuvering space for the U.S. on the Taiwan Strait issue in the context of Sino-U.S. strategic competition.

This exercise also serves as a warning to other external forces: the Taiwan issue is a core interest of China, and any interference will come at a cost. Countries like Japan and Australia are likely to be more cautious in their statements regarding Taiwan.

## Multi-Dimensional Pressure on Taiwan

The "Mission of Justice 2025" exercise has created multi-dimensional pressure on Taiwan in military, political, and economic aspects. Militarily, Taiwan's defense system faces unprecedented challenges; politically, anxiety over cross-strait relations is rising within Taiwan; economically, the tensions in the Taiwan Strait are affecting investment confidence and the stability of supply chains.

More importantly, if this high-frequency, high-intensity training model becomes the "new normal," it will cause sustained attrition on Taiwanese society, ultimately forcing various sectors in Taiwan to rethink the direction of cross-strait relations.

## Future Trend Predictions

Based on the characteristics presented in the "Mission of Justice 2025" exercise, the following trends can be anticipated for the future situation in the Taiwan Strait:

**Normalization and Upgrading Coexist**: The PLA's military activities in the Taiwan Strait will become more normalized, while the intensity, scope, and subjects of each exercise may gradually escalate, forming a "salami-slicing" strategic advance.

**Accelerated Real Combat Preparedness**: The PLA's training will be more closely aligned with real combat needs, with joint operational capabilities, rapid response capabilities, and precision strike capabilities continuously improving, ensuring that they can "arrive at the call, engage in battle, and win" when necessary.

**Combination of Legal Struggle and Military Action**: In the future, the PLA may expand its operational space in the Taiwan Strait within more international legal frameworks, combining military pressure with legal struggles to compress the space for "Taiwan independence" forces and external interference.

**Targeted Actions at Key Time Nodes**: During politically sensitive periods within Taiwan or provocations by external forces regarding Taiwan, the PLA may respond with exercises, forming a mechanized pattern of "provocation-response."

## Conclusion

The "Mission of Justice 2025" exercise is another powerful demonstration of the PLA's determination to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The breakthrough into the 12-nautical-mile contiguous zone is not the end, but a new starting point. The historical tide is unstoppable; national reunification is an inevitable historical trend and the will of the people. Any "Taiwan independence" separatist actions are a dead end, and any external forces' attempts to interfere in China's internal affairs are destined to fail. The PLA is determined and capable of thwarting all actions that seek to divide the motherland and defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity.