STORY: Fighter jets were seen taking off and landing at Taiwan's Hsinchu airbase on Monday (December 29) as China's military conducts live-fire exercises around the island as part of its "Justice Mission 2025" drills aimed at testing combat readiness and delivering a "stern warning" against moves toward Taiwanese independence.

Taiwan's armed forces are preparing for the worst, Taiwan's defence ministry said on Monday, adding that the drills were posing complex challenges for the international community and neighbouring countries.

The exercises began 11 days after the U.S. announced $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever weapons package for the island, drawing a protest from China's defence ministry and warnings the military would "take forceful measures" in response.

Taiwan's government condemned the drills, while its defence ministry posted a video on Facebook showcasing various weapons, including U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) rocket systems, a highly mobile artillery system with a range of about 300 km (186 miles) that could hit coastal targets in China's southern province of Fujian, on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, in the event of a conflict.

The island's coast guard said it had deployed large ships to face off against Chinese coast guard vessels near its waters and was coordinating with the military to minimise the drills' impact on maritime routes and fishing grounds.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: NEWS CONFERENCE AT TAIWAN DEFENCE MINISTRY / SOUNDBITES FROM HSIEH JIH-SHENG, DEPUTY CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF FOR INTELLIGENCE AT TAIWAN DEFENCE MINISTRY / JETS TAKING OFF AT HSINCHU AIRBASE

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: TAIPEI, TAIWAN (DECEMBER 29, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. TAIWAN DEFENCE MINISTRY NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

2. HSIEH JIH-SHENG, DEPUTY CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF FOR INTELLIGENCE AT TAIWAN DEFENCE MINISTRY, SPEAKING

3. PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING PICTURE

4. HSIEH PRESENTING INFORMATION ABOUT CHINESE MILITARY DRILLS

5. SLIDE SHOWING INFORMATION ON DRILLS

6. REPORTERS USING LAPTOPS

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) HSIEH JIH-SHENG, DEPUTY CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF FOR INTELLIGENCE AT TAIWAN DEFENCE MINISTRY, SAYING:

"Whether they will carry out this live-fire shooting tomorrow, I think the decision of whether to conduct live-fire shooting lies with them. However, our armed forces operate on the principle of preparing for the worst and must take every possible scenario into account."

8. HSIEH SPEAKING

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) HSIEH JIH-SHENG, DEPUTY CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF FOR INTELLIGENCE AT TAIWAN DEFENCE MINISTRY, SAYING:

"Conducting live-fire exercises around the Taiwan Strait ... would not only constitute military pressure on us, but could also pose more complex challenges and impacts for the international community and neighbouring countries."

10. REPORTERS

11. VARIOUS OF NEWS CONFERENCE ENDING

HSINCHU, TAIWAN (DECEMBER 29, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

12. JETS IN HANGAR AT HSINCHU AIRBASE

13. MIRAGE 2000 FIGHTER JET TAXIING ON RUNWAY

14. JETS IN HANGAR

15. CONTROL TOWER

16. MIRAGE 2000 FIGHTER JET TAKING OFF

17. MIRAGE 2000 FIGHTER JET TAXIING

18. MIRAGE 2000 FIGHTER JET TAKING OFF