China military exercises: PLA simulates Taiwan blockade, Trump 'not worried'

China fired rockets, massed assault ships and flew bombers around Taiwan on Tuesday, simulating a military blockade in a warning to the United States against supporting the Beijing-claimed island.

HONG KONG — China fired rockets, massed assault ships and flew bombers around Taiwan on Tuesday, simulating a military blockade in an apparent warning to the United States against supporting the Beijing-claimed island.

The second day of the large-scale war games, called “Justice Mission 2025,” saw the Chinese military encircle Taiwan in its biggest such exercise in eight months. President Donald Trump said Monday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had not told him about the exercises but that they did not worry him.

“They’ve been doing naval exercises for 20 years in that area,” he told reporters. Analysts said the intense activity and accompanying rhetoric were aimed at demonstrating China’s ability to pressure and isolate Taiwan, but also at deterring U.S. involvement.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command take part in long-range live-fire drills targeting waters south of Taiwan on Tuesday.Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army / via ReutersThough the U.S. has no official relations with Taiwan, it is the self-governing democracy’s most important international backer and is legally bound to provide it with defensive weapons. The issue has long strained U.S.-China relations, though it has taken a backseat under Trump amid a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

The Chinese Ministry of Defense says the two-day exercises are necessary to defend national security and territorial integrity and “serve as a stern warning against the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and interference by external powers.”