Taiwan accuses China of using war games to undermine support

Taiwan has accused China of using its recent large-scale military exercises, known as “Justice Mission 2025”, to pressure the island, undermine international support, and divert attention from Beijing’s economic problems. In a report submitted to Parliament, Taiwan’s National Security Bureau said the drills involved missile launches and major naval and air force deployments that disrupted flights and alarmed regional partners. Taiwan accused Beijing of using the exercises to push back against growing support for Taipei from democratic countries. The report also said China aimed to redirect domestic dissatisfaction over economic challenges by fueling nationalist sentiment and portraying the drills as resistance to “external interference.”

Hybrid pressure tactics

Taiwan accused China of increasingly relying on a “hybrid” strategy that combines military intimidation with economic pressure and information warfare. The report cited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could pose an existential threat to Japan, highlighting the wider regional implications.

Information warfare and cyberattacks

Taiwan accused China of intensifying information warfare during the drills by using state media, AI-generated content, and coordinated online networks to undermine trust in Taiwan’s military, President Lai Ching-te, and U.S. support.According to the report, about 19,000 controversial messages were spread over five days by 799 accounts. Taiwan also faced more than two million cyberattacks in the first two days of the exercises, with groups linked to China’s People’s Liberation Army, including APT24 and BlackTech, allegedly involved.The report said these coordinated cyber and influence operations were intended to destabilize Taiwan’s cybersecurity environment and weaken public morale.

China’s response

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not directly comment on the report but said the drills were conducted to “defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity” and protect what it called the shared interests of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. China claims Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out the use of force, while Taiwan maintains that only its people have the right to decide the island’s future.